Zcash Foundation says US SEC ends multi-year investigation with no enforcement planned
The Zcash Foundation announced that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has concluded a multi-year investigation—filed under subpoena SF‑04569 in August 2023—and indicated it does not intend to pursue enforcement action. Earlier reporting noted the SEC probe examined governance, funding and whether elements of Zcash could be classed as securities. No settlement, fines, injunctions or public penalties have been disclosed and both parties issued limited public detail. The closure follows a pattern this year of the SEC closing or withdrawing several cryptocurrency and DeFi inquiries. For traders, the development removes a specific regulatory overhang for Zcash (ZEC) and may reduce short-term legal uncertainty for the ZEC market, though broader SEC scrutiny of crypto persists. Market reaction was muted at announcement, with no immediate volatility spike tied directly to the news. Keywords: SEC investigation, Zcash Foundation, ZEC, regulatory update, crypto compliance.
Bullish
The SEC’s decision not to pursue enforcement against the Zcash Foundation removes a discrete legal overhang specific to Zcash, which is likely to be interpreted positively by traders. In the short term, reduced regulatory uncertainty can lower sell-side pressure and encourage buying or re-entry from traders who had been sidelined by legal risk, producing modest upward pressure on ZEC. The market’s muted immediate reaction suggests the move was largely priced in or that the broader market is focused on larger macro and sector factors; therefore any price response may be gradual rather than a sharp spike. Over the medium to long term, the absence of enforcement lessens project-specific downside risk, improving fundamentals for ecosystem development and on-chain activity—both supportive for price—provided no new regulatory actions emerge. However, broader SEC scrutiny of the crypto sector continues, so the bullish effect is relative and conditional rather than definitive. Net assessment: modestly bullish for ZEC.