Zcash Foundation: SEC Concludes Longstanding Investigation, Takes No Enforcement Action

BlockBeats News, January 15th, the Zcash Foundation stated this Wednesday that the U.S. SEC has formally concluded its years-long investigation into the organization and made it clear that it does not plan to take any enforcement action or require any remediation.

The Foundation disclosed that it had received a subpoena from the SEC in August 2023, related to "Certain Crypto Asset Offerings." Currently, the SEC has completed its review and closed the case. An SEC spokesperson responded that the regulatory agency "does not comment on the existence of investigations."

This closure comes against the backdrop of the SEC's shift in its stance on crypto regulation. During the Trump administration, the SEC had withdrawn or terminated enforcement actions or investigations against several crypto firms over the past year, including Coinbase and multiple DeFi projects, which is markedly different from the tough "enforcement-first" approach during the Biden administration.

Current SEC Chairman Paul Atkins is driving updates to crypto regulatory rules through "Project Crypto," focusing on on-chain activities and technological realities.

It is worth noting that the Zcash ecosystem has seen recent fluctuations. On January 8th, all employees of Zcash's core development entity, the Electric Coin Company, resigned en masse due to structural disagreements with its parent company's board. In response, the Zcash Foundation emphasized that its commitment to the protocol remains unchanged and noted that the Zcash network is independent of any single organization or entity, emphasizing that ecosystem reorganization does not equate to damage to the network's health.