Electric Coin Company Staff Departure Triggered by Zcash Governance Dispute

The primary developer team of the privacy-focused blockchain, Zcash, has collectively resigned due to ongoing governance disagreements with the non-profit board overseeing the Electric Coin Company (ECC). ECC CEO, Josh Swihart, stated the team was effectively dismissed following significant changes to their employment terms, imposed by the Bootstrap board. He accused the board of straying from Zcash's original mission and creating an environment where the team could not perform their duties effectively. Despite the significant internal disruption, the Zcash protocol remains unaffected, and the developers intend to establish a new company to continue their work. This incident has brought attention to "constructive discharge," a term in US labor law describing situations where employees are forced to resign due to hostile or intolerable working conditions.