Zcash Foundation: SEC Concludes Longstanding Investigation, Takes No Enforcement Action

January 15 — The Zcash Foundation said Wednesday the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has formally closed its years-long investigation into the group and confirmed it does not intend to take enforcement action or seek remediation. The foundation disclosed it received an SEC subpoena in August 2023 related to “Certain Crypto Asset Offerings.” The regulator has now completed its review and closed the case. An SEC spokesperson declined to comment on the existence of any investigation. The closure comes amid a shift in the SEC’s approach to crypto regulation. Over the past year, the commission has dropped or terminated enforcement actions and investigations against several crypto firms—including Coinbase and multiple DeFi projects—under the Trump administration, a stark contrast to the Biden administration’s aggressive “enforcement-first” stance. Current SEC Chair Paul Atkins is leading updates to crypto regulatory rules via “Project Crypto,” focused on on-chain activity and technological realities. Notably, the Zcash ecosystem has seen recent turbulence. On Jan. 8, all employees at Zcash’s core development entity, the Electric Coin Company (ECC), resigned en masse amid structural disagreements with the parent company’s board. The Zcash Foundation stressed its commitment to the Zcash protocol remains unwavering, noting the network is independent of any single organization or entity. It added ecosystem restructuring does not mean harm to the network’s health.