Zcash Open Development Lab secures $25M for privacy tech

ZODL raised $25M from top crypto investors to expand Zcash protocol and its Zodl wallet, following a split from ECC. Zodl has driven major growth in Zcash's shielded pool and processed $600M in swaps.

Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL), established by former Electric Coin Company (ECC) members, has secured $25 million in seed funding from leading investors such as Paradigm, a16z crypto, Winklevoss Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Cypherpunk Technologies, and prominent angels. This fundraising follows a significant team departure from ECC after a governance dispute with its nonprofit board, Bootstrap. ZODL now leads the development of the Zodl wallet (formerly Zashi), which has enabled over $600 million in ZEC swaps since October 2025. This activity has contributed to a 400%+ increase in Zcash’s shielded pool, which now accounts for 23% of the total token supply as of late 2025. The new capital will support further Zcash protocol development and enhancements to the privacy-focused, self-custodial Zodl wallet. Notably, Cypherpunk Technologies announced a $5 million investment, its first tech investment outside of ZEC. ZODL aims to make Zcash more accessible and reinforce privacy as a core driver of its growth.