Zcash Price Surges 10% Amid 2 Major Developments

Zcash (ZEC) jumped near $580 on Tuesday after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) closed its Zcash Foundation investigation. A Q1 report also revealed a $36.7 million Foundation treasury.

The token gained nearly 10% over 24 hours. ZEC drew privacy traders back into a name battered by Electric Coin Company staff exits earlier in 2026.

The bounce extended a rally that has unfolded since institutional flows returned to the privacy sector earlier in 2026.

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Zcash SEC Investigation Closes Without Penalties

The Foundation said in its Q1 2026 report that the SEC concluded its review of the nonprofit. The agency informed leadership that it does not plan to recommend enforcement action.

The probe began on August 31, 2023, when staff served the Foundation with a subpoena. The case was filed as “In the Matter of Certain Crypto Asset Offerings,” designated SF-04569.

“We are pleased to announce that the SEC has concluded its review and informed us that it does not intend to recommend any enforcement action or other changes against Zcash Foundation regarding this matter,” Zcash Foundation noted.

The closure was formally communicated in January. It removes a regulatory overhang that had followed Zcash for over two years.

Foundation officials said the nonprofit cooperated fully throughout the process. No penalties, fines, or required changes were attached to the outcome.

The decision aligns with a broader pullback in SEC crypto cases seen since 2025. Several other projects, including Aave, OpenSea, Robinhood, Gemini, and Ondo, have seen probes closed without charges in recent quarters.

Foundation Discloses $36.7 Million Treasury

The same quarterly disclosure showed about $36.7 million in liquid holdings at the end of March. ZEC accounted for roughly 58.6% of the balance.

The Foundation also held Bitcoin, U.S. dollar reserves, and a small ether position. Average monthly operating expenses ran near $272,500.

That position gives the nonprofit a multi-year runway to keep funding engineering work. The cash buffer matters because most Electric Coin Company contributors left during a governance dispute.

The Q1 report stressed that blocks continued to settle, transactions cleared normally, and user privacy stayed intact through the transition.

Engineering output remained active in the period. The Foundation shipped several Zebra node releases and advanced the Z3 stack. FROST multi-party signing also progressed, while work continued on NU7, the next planned network upgrade.

Grayscale recently flagged Zcash as one of its preferred private-asset names. The endorsement drew fresh attention from larger allocators.

Traders watching the next leg will track NU7 timing and Foundation spending discipline. They will also weigh whether the SEC’s retreat from crypto cases holds through the next rule cycle.

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