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CryptoMediumUpdated•Originally published 9 March 2026•Updated 9 March 2026•
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Paradigm and a16z Back Zcash Development Lab in $25 Million Funding Round

Key Facts

1Josh Swihart's Zcash Open Development Lab raised $25 million in seed funding.
2The capital will be used to expand development of the Zcash (ZEC) protocol and its privacy-focused self-custodial mobile wallet, Zodl.
3Zcash price surged following the funding round, highlighting growing institutional interest in privacy technology.

The Zcash Open Development Lab, led by Josh Swihart, has secured $25 million in seed funding to accelerate the development of the Zcash (ZEC) protocol. The round attracted high-profile venture capital firms, including Paradigm and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), signaling strong institutional support for the privacy-focused project. Funds are primarily allocated to enhancing the ecosystem and developing Zodl, a privacy-centric self-custodial mobile wallet. Notably, the Zodl wallet is being built using the established codebase of the popular Zashi wallet to ensure reliability and performance. The market responded positively to the news, with ZEC prices surging following the announcement of these tier-one backers. This investment underscores a renewed focus on privacy technologies despite ongoing regulatory scrutiny in the crypto sector.