Share this article
Zcash Developer Electric Coin Co. Reveals Q1 Financial Loss
The for-profit arm supporting zcash has issued a new report saying it avoided layoffs throughout the bear market despite being in the red.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 1:51 p.m. Published Aug 30, 2019, 12:25 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
The Electric Coin Company (ECC), the for-profit company that supports the development of the zcash cryptocurrency has issued its Q3 transparency report, revealing it has so far avoided layoffs during the bear market despite financial losses.
According to the report, the company ran an average monthly deficit of 30 percent in Q1. The ECC took in $449,000 per month while expenses averaged $635,000.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
In a July letter, EEC CEO and Zcash co-founder Zooko Wilcox said the company had successfully navigated the bear market, which saw multiple teams cut staff or close up shop entirely. According to the company’s profile on Linkedin, the ECC currently has 19 employees.
Launched in 2016 without an initial coin offering, new cryptocurrency created by the protocol has since been divided between miners, the Zcash Foundation, the ECC and certain founders as well as employees.
As of today's mining schedule, 80 percent of the block reward goes toward miners with the remainder dispersed as a "Founder's Reward."
At an average of $55 per coin, the ECC made $336,900 per month on block rewards alone in Q1. Expenses hit $525,000 for the company plus another $110,000 per month for employees over the same period.
Due to the deficit, the report states the ECC cut costs in numerous non-critical areas like PR, trademark protection and engineering. The ECC also approached Founder's Reward recipients to reallocate funds for the ECC in June.
As mentioned, the report comes a month after Wilcox’s open letter to the Zcash community. The development fund is set to run dry in October 2020, which would slash funding for the ECC. In the letter, Wilcox called for a new development fund for the company.
The ECC did not respond to questions for comment by press time.
Zooko Wilcox image via CoinDesk archives
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Tokenization 'supercycle' set to drive crypto’s next leg higher in 2026: Bernstein
After a choppy end to 2025, Wall Street broker Bernstein said crypto markets have likely bottomed and it sees a broad-based tokenization boom reshaping finance.
What to know:
- Bernstein expects a tokenization 'supercycle' in 2026 spanning stablecoins, capital markets and prediction markets.
- The broker reiterated its $150,000 bitcoin forecast for 2026 and $200,000 as its peak 2027 cycle target.
- Coinbase, Robinhood and other crypto-linked equities are seen as key beneficiaries.
