Zcash rally draws criticism from F2Pool co-founder

F2Pool co-founder Chun Wang criticized Zcash on Sept. 8 as ZEC traded near $1,130 following a rally that carried the privacy coin into the cryptocurrency market’s top ten. Summary Zcash traded near $1,130 after gaining more than 2,300% during the previous twelve months overall. F2Pool co-founder Chun Wang criticized Zcash’s funding structure, governance history and optional privacy model publicly. Zcash allocated 20% of early block rewards through its original four-year Founders’ Reward system initially. Ironwood replaced Orchard after developers disclosed a four-year vulnerability carrying theoretical hidden counterfeiting risks onchain. Developers found no evidence of exploitation but cannot cryptographically prove counterfeit ZEC never existed privately. Wang, who posts under the name Chun at @satofishi, called the move a “narrative bid.” He argued that Zcash’s funding history, optional privacy model, governance disputes and recently disclosed Orchard vulnerability did not justify its valuation. His comments are opinions rather than evidence of wrongdoing. Several underlying events are documented, but some of Wang’s conclusions omit later changes to Zcash’s funding and privacy systems. ZEC was trading around $1,130 when this report was prepared, down nearly 7% over 24 hours. CoinMarketCap placed its capitalization near $19 billion and ranked it tenth, while CoinGecko placed it ninth. Rankings can differ because platforms use different supply and asset-classification methods. The token remained more than 2,300% higher than one year earlier, according to market data cited in coverage of Zcash’s move above $1,000. Its rally accelerated after Grayscale converted its Zcash Trust into a U.S.-listed spot exchange-traded fund in August. Six years ago, a Zcash team member wrote me and kept confusing EST and EDT. Communication went nowhere, I banned their entire company. Six years later, this is still one of the best decisions I have made. Still remember the BlockFi incident where they were supposed to send… https://t.co/hY6H6W37pj — Chun (@satofishi) September 8, 2026 You might also like: Zcash price targets $1,500 after bullish pennant breakout Zcash funding criticism needs historical context Wang said Zcash did not have a fair launch because 20% of its early block rewards went to founders, employees, advisers and investors. The underlying percentage is correct. During Zcash’s first four years, miners received 80% of each block subsidy, while the Founders’ Reward received 20%. Because that arrangement covered only the first issuance period, it represented 2.1 million ZEC, or 10% of the planned 21 million maximum supply. The recipients included founders, investors, employees and organizations supporting development. The 2.1 million ZEC did not go exclusively to Electric Coin Company, a distinction noted in historical community discussions. The Founders’ Reward ended with the Canopy upgrade in November 2020. Zcash then introduced a development fund that also received 20% of block rewards between the first and second halvings.