According to ChainCatcher, the Zcash Foundation stated on Wednesday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially ended its years-long investigation into the organization and has made it clear that it does not plan to take any enforcement action or require any changes.
The foundation disclosed that it received a subpoena from the SEC in August 2023, under investigation concerning "In the Matter of Certain Crypto Asset Offerings." The SEC has since completed its review and closed the case. An SEC spokesperson responded that the regulator "does not comment on the existence of investigations."
This case closes against the backdrop of a shift in the SEC's stance on crypto regulation. During the Trump administration, the SEC withdrew or terminated enforcement or investigations against several crypto entities, including Coinbase and numerous DeFi projects, in the past year, a stark contrast to the hardline "enforcement-style regulation" approach adopted during the Biden administration.
Current SEC Chairman Paul Atkins is pushing for updates to crypto regulatory rules through "Project Crypto," with a focus on on-chain activity and technological realities.
It's worth noting that the Zcash ecosystem has recently experienced fluctuations. On January 8th, all employees of Electric Coin Company, the core developer of Zcash, resigned en masse due to structural disagreements with the board of directors of its parent organization. In response, the Zcash Foundation emphasized that its commitment to the protocol remains unchanged and pointed out that the Zcash network is independent of any single organization or entity, and that organizational adjustments within the ecosystem do not equate to damage to the health of the network itself.
