ZEC is up 160% and the Zcash Foundation just cleared its biggest overhang

A 160% rally and regulatory relief

Zcash ($ZEC) is trading near $578, up more than 160% since late March, extending a run that began when the token was priced around $74 last October. The move is part of a broader revival in privacy-coin demand that has pushed $ZEC past the $630 mark at its recent peak.

Into that rally, the @ZcashFoundation delivered a piece of long-awaited good news in its Q1 report: the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has closed its investigation into the foundation with no enforcement action recommended. The probe began in August 2023, when the foundation received a subpoena as part of a broader SEC effort to assess whether specific digital asset offerings fell under federal securities laws. The case was internally designated SF-04569 and remained open for more than two years. The @ZcashFoundation described the outcome as the removal of a significant regulatory overhang.

The decision comes amid a broader shift in the SEC's approach to crypto under the Trump administration. Over the past year, the agency has dropped dozens of cases against major crypto firms, including Coinbase, and has ended probes into DeFi protocols and other industry players.

Network holds steady despite internal turbulence

The SEC news is not the only story at Zcash. The regulatory resolution comes at a time of internal change for the Zcash ecosystem. Earlier this year, the full development team at Electric Coin Company, which has led core Zcash development, resigned following a governance dispute with its overseeing nonprofit board. Former ECC leadership described the situation as a breakdown in working conditions, prompting the team to leave and form a new company to continue building privacy-focused tools. Shortly after, the developers announced plans for a new wallet, called cashZ, based on existing Zcash technology, with an option for users to migrate easily.

Despite the upheaval, block production on the Zcash network never stopped. The foundation noted it is important to distinguish between organizational shifts and the health of the network, stating: "The Zcash network is fundamentally independent of any single organization, board or corporate entity." While governance challenges remain unresolved, the end of the SEC probe removes a major external overhang for the Zcash Foundation as it moves forward.

On the technical side, critical security patches were applied in April 2026 to address vulnerabilities that could have crashed nodes or risked a chain split, and ZODL raised $25 million in March 2026 to accelerate private financial tools and ecosystem growth. The combination of regulatory clarity and continued network development has helped sustain investor interest in $ZEC even as governance questions linger.

Sources
The Block: Zcash Foundation says SEC has closed the book on its years-long probe
Yahoo Finance: Zcash Foundation in the Clear as SEC Ends Years-Long Probe
Crypto.news: U.S. SEC closes Zcash Foundation probe with no enforcement action