Electric Coin

What Electric Coin does

Electric Coin Company (ECC), originally incorporated in 2015 as Zerocoin Electric Coin Company, is the core development organization behind the Zcash privacy-focused cryptocurrency. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado (USA), ECC designs and maintains the Zcash protocol, which launched in October 2016 as the first major cryptocurrency to enable optional shielded transactions using zk-SNARK (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge) cryptography. The company's operating scope includes the protocol node software (the C++ zcashd client and the newer Rust-based zebrad), the Zashi consumer mobile wallet distributed on iOS, Android, F-Droid, and GitHub, and a portfolio of protocol upgrades that have evolved Zcash through named network upgrades (Overwinter, Sapling, Blossom, Heartwood, Canopy, NU5, and NU6).

ECC's core technology centers on production-grade zero-knowledge proof systems. The company developed and released the Halo proving system under open source in 2020—a recursive proof composition architecture that eliminates the trusted setup requirement previously considered mandatory for zk-SNARKs—and incorporated Halo into the May 2022 NU5 upgrade alongside the Orchard shielded payment protocol. Supporting cryptographic assets include the Pasta Curves (Pallas and Vesta) elliptic curve pairings and shielded-pool infrastructure spanning Sapling and Orchard. The product ecosystem extends into Zashi wallet integrations with the Tor (Arti) network for traffic privacy, Ledger and Keystone hardware wallets for shielded cold storage, the Coinbase onramp for fiat-to-ZEC purchasing, Gemini for shielded withdrawals, Maya Protocol for cross-chain liquidity, NEAR Intents for decentralized swaps, and the Flexa payment network for retail-point-of-sale utility.

Historically ECC operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bootstrap nonprofit (since 2020) and was funded primarily by a 7% allocation of Zcash protocol block rewards, supplemented by grants such as the 2020 Ethereum Foundation award of $120,000 for Halo research and partnership revenue from the J.P. Morgan Quorum enterprise blockchain integration. The protocol block-reward funding mechanism terminated with the November 2024 NU6 upgrade, and in January 2026 the entire ECC engineering and product team resigned over governance disputes with Bootstrap regarding the privatization of the Zashi wallet; the core team has since formed the ZODL spin-off, which closed a $25M seed round in March 2026 led by Paradigm and a16z crypto. ECC's partner ecosystem spans cryptocurrency exchanges (Coinbase, Gemini), wallet developers (Nighthawk, Unstoppable, Zondax), payment processors (Flexa), mining pools (Luxor, FlyPool), and enterprise integrators (J.P. Morgan). As of the data window, ECC itself retains the Zashi wallet product, foundational IP, and the subsidiary relationship with Bootstrap, while day-to-day protocol development has effectively migrated to ZODL.

Name

Electric Coin

Legal name

Zerocoin Electric Coin Company

Website

https://electriccoin.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Electric Coin Company develops the Zcash privacy-focused cryptocurrency protocol using zk-SNARK cryptography and the Halo proving system, serving privacy-seeking cryptocurrency users, exchange integrators, wallet developers, and enterprises building on-chain confidential payment solutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Privacy Cryptocurrency Protocol

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Exchanges (5232), Securities and Commodity Exchanges (52321)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Crypto Custody & Exchange Wallet Services (Integrated) (FSADAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

KYC/KYB Identity Verification & Onboarding (FSADALAA)

Keywords

• Privacy cryptocurrency
• Zero-knowledge proofs
• Blockchain protocol
• Mobile crypto wallet
• Shielded transactions

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Protocol Development Funding (Historical): Previously received development funding through Zcash protocol block rewards - 20% allocation split between ECC (7%), Zcash Foundation (5.5%), and Zcash Community Grants (7.5%). This direct protocol funding mechanism ended in November 2024.
2. Enterprise Grants and Partnerships: Received grants from Ethereum Foundation ($120,000 for Halo research in 2020) and collaborative R&D with Protocol Labs and Filecoin Foundation. Enterprise partnerships with J.P. Morgan for Quorum blockchain integration.

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Electric Coin Company (ECC) develops the Zcash (ZEC) protocol, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency built on zero-knowledge proof cryptography. The company builds and maintains the core Zcash node software (zcashd), the Zebra Rust-based node, the Halo proving system, and the Zashi consumer mobile wallet for shielded Zcash transactions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Zcash (ZEC) Protocol Privacy-focused cryptocurrency protocol built on zero-knowledge proof (zk-SNARK) cryptography, enabling shielded peer-to-peer value transfer where transaction details (sender, receiver, amount) are cryptographically hidden while remaining verifiable on the blockchain. Used by individuals, exchanges, wallet providers, and enterprises seeking financial privacy.
• Zashi Mobile Wallet Privacy-first mobile cryptocurrency wallet for Zcash (ZEC) with built-in shielded (private) transactions by default. Available on iOS, Android, and F-Droid. Designed for everyday consumers who want to send and receive ZEC with strong on-chain privacy without needing to operate full-node infrastructure.
• zcashd Node Software Reference full-node implementation of the Zcash protocol, originally based on Bitcoin Core and extended with zero-knowledge proof verification, shielded transaction logic, and consensus rules. Operated by miners, exchanges, and infrastructure providers that need to independently validate the Zcash blockchain.
• Zebra (zebrad) Node Alternative Rust-based full-node implementation of the Zcash protocol, developed and maintained by Electric Coin Company. Designed for higher performance, memory safety, and easier integration by exchanges, custodians, and developers building on Zcash.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 96% transaction cost reduction
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Ethereum FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Received $120,000 research grant for Halo recursive proof system development. Collaborative R&D advancing zero-knowledge proof technology with applications across the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem.
• J.P. MorganflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to build a Zero-knowledge Security Layer on J.P. Morgan's Quorum blockchain, bringing Zcash's privacy technology to enterprise blockchain applications. This was a significant validation of Zcash's cryptographic technology for enterprise use cases.
• Protocol LabscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative R&D partnership on Halo zero-knowledge proof system. Joint development extending Zcash cryptographic innovations to the Filecoin ecosystem.
• Filecoin FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership extending Halo R&D to Filecoin decentralized storage network. Collaborative research advancing privacy technology for distributed storage.
• Nighthawk WalletcoreTechnology or IntegrationMobile wallet provider integrating full Zcash shielded transaction support, offering users privacy-preserving mobile cryptocurrency experience.
• Unstoppable WalletcoreTechnology or IntegrationMulti-chain mobile wallet with native Zcash shielded transaction integration, enabling privacy features across multiple cryptocurrencies.
• FlexacoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment network integration enabling ZEC payments at retail locations, expanding real-world Zcash utility and merchant acceptance.
• Luxor Mining PoolcoreTechnology or IntegrationMajor Zcash mining pool supporting network infrastructure and security through proof-of-work mining operations.
• CoinbasecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor cryptocurrency exchange listing ZEC with on-ramp services enabling fiat-to-ZEC purchases, critical for mainstream accessibility.
• GeminicoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExchange partnership specifically enabling shielded ZEC withdrawals, a key feature for privacy-conscious users requiring end-to-end privacy.
• Enterprise Ethereum AllianceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMembership in industry consortium advancing enterprise Ethereum standards, positioning Zcash as complementary privacy layer for Ethereum ecosystem.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Iron Fish: Privacy-focused cryptocurrency using zk-proofs and a novel node architecture. Comparable as a newer privacy-coin protocol targeting a similar user segment.
• Mina Protocol: zk-SNARK-based succinct blockchain. Comparable as a zk-native L1 with privacy and scalability goals that overlap with ECC's cryptographic mission.
• Aleo: zk-based privacy L1 with developer tooling and a token economic model. Comparable as a competitor protocol targeting private programmable blockchain applications.
• Aztec: zk-SNARK-based privacy L2 on Ethereum providing programmable private smart contracts. Comparable as a privacy-first blockchain using similar cryptographic primitives but with a developer-friendly smart-contract layer Zcash lacks.
• Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL): For-profit development organization formed in January 2026 by the entire former ECC engineering and product team, with a US$25M seed led by Paradigm and a16z crypto. Direct successor in Zcash protocol development and the Zashi wallet, making it the most immediate comparable.

Broad incumbents

• Polygon Labs: Large L2/scaling ecosystem with significant investment in zk proving systems (Polygon zkEVM, Polygon Miden). Comparable as an established zk-cryptography adopter with overlapping enterprise and developer ambitions.
• StarkWare: Major zero-knowledge proof system provider (STARKs) powering Starknet and several enterprise deployments. Comparable as a leading zk cryptography company with broader scope and significantly more capital.

Direct peers

• Monero: The other major privacy-focused cryptocurrency protocol, using ring signatures and stealth addresses rather than zk-SNARKs. Directly comparable as a competing privacy-coin network with overlapping user base and similar regulatory exposure.
• Cypherpunk Technologies: Public privacy-crypto investment company that now employs former ECC CEO Josh Swihart as Strategic Advisor. Directly comparable as a privacy-crypto-aligned organization with capital-markets access and ties to the Zcash ecosystem.
• Zcash Foundation: Nonprofit co-developer of the Zcash protocol that shares governance and protocol-development responsibility with ECC. Directly comparable as the other half of the Zcash core development infrastructure and the entity that recently cleared an SEC investigation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ElectricCoinCo
• GitHubgithub.com/zcash
• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLVm6KZ09QEQw3EvlfI-NcZUJ5NzFUyqxY

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Electric Coin