Zodl
9 known investors
Find your way into Zodl
Zodl is a privacy-focused mobile wallet built for shielded Zcash (ZEC), offering self-custody, private swaps, private payments, and encrypted messaging. It targets crypto users who want to keep transaction details hidden, with features for paying merchants and funding wallets without exposing financial data.
Also known as Zashi · Zcash Open Development Lab · ZODL
Founders & leadership
Investors · 9
Also in the syndicate · 4
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements$50M disclosed across 2 rounds · 2026
- $25MSeedMar 2026 · 2 sources
a16z crypto, Balaji Srinivasan, Chapter One, Coinbase Ventures, Cypherpunk Technologies, David Friedberg, Haseeb Qureshi, James Nicholas, Maelstrom, Mert, Paradigm, Winklevoss Capital
Source ↗ - $25MraisedMar 2026 · 2 sourcesSource ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL) is a company formed in January 2026 by the departing team of Electric Coin Company (ECC), the original creators of the Zcash protocol and of the Zashi wallet. ZODL carries out two lines of work: continued development and maintenance of core Zcash protocol systems previously handled at ECC, and development of the consumer-facing Zcash mobile wallet, which was rebranded from Zashi to Zodl in February–March 2026. The company describes its work as open-source, stating that its protocol code and wallet can be inspected, audited, rebuilt or forked by third parties, and notes that Zcash is developed by multiple independent teams with which ZODL works alongside.
The Zodl wallet is a self-custody mobile application designed around shielded (private) Zcash transactions. Advertised functionality includes ZEC-to-ZEC shielded payments; CrossPay, which lets a user send shielded ZEC while the recipient receives another asset such as BTC or a stablecoin; built-in swaps to and from shielded ZEC powered by NEAR Intents; integration with the Keystone air-gapped hardware wallet for cold storage of shielded ZEC; retail payments at merchants including GameStop, Sheetz and Chipotle via Flexa; one-tap shielding of transparent ZEC balances; and encrypted shielded notes that allow private messages to be attached to transactions or sent as zero-value transactions. The company states it does not collect, track or profile wallet activity and uses only anonymized crash reports for debugging.
The wallet is distributed through the Apple App Store, Google Play, F-Droid, GitHub and (per company statements about pending rebranding work) the Solana dApp Store. Support is provided through email, a help desk and a Discord community.
Founding story
ZODL was founded by Josh Swihart, former CEO of Electric Coin Company. The company was created in January 2026 when the full ECC team departed to continue Zcash protocol and wallet development independently, a move the company says was necessary to drive Zcash growth and ZEC adoption without depending on the Zcash development fund.
Business model
ZODL develops open-source software: the Zcash core protocol and the Zodl self-custody wallet. The sources do not describe how the company charges users or generates revenue; its stated intent is to build Zodl into an open, self-custodial private financial platform and to expand ecosystem interoperability through partnerships. The company states that forming ZODL removed its reliance on the Zcash development fund, and it is financed by venture and angel investment.
Traction
The company states that since the wallet's 2024 launch it has driven over 400% growth in the Zcash shielded pool and facilitated more than $600 million in ZEC swaps since October 2025. These figures are self-reported. The wallet is live on iOS and Android under the Zodl brand as of March 2026.
Latest developments
March 2, 2026: Zodl rebrand live on Google Play with Swap and CrossPay UI improvements and bug fixes. March 9, 2026: announcement of a seed round of more than $25 million from Paradigm, a16z crypto, Winklevoss Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Cypherpunk Technologies, Maelstrom, Chapter One and angels including Balaji Srinivasan, David Friedberg, Haseeb Qureshi, Mert and James Nicholas, intended to fund hiring. Company blog references a remediated Zcash vulnerability, but no details are given in the retrieved sources.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, history, risks & controversies
Market position
ZODL positions itself as the team behind the flagship Zcash wallet and as the successor to Electric Coin Company for core Zcash protocol development, claiming cryptography and protocol expertise not held by other Zcash wallet teams. It notes that Zcash is decentralized and developed by multiple teams alongside which it works.
The company's stated differentiators are that its staff are the original creators and maintainers of the Zcash protocol working together with the product team that built the flagship wallet, fully open-source development, a no-tracking/no-analytics policy, and a shielded-first feature set (CrossPay, private swaps, shielded notes, hardware-wallet support).
Technology
The company's engineers designed, implemented and maintain core Zcash protocol systems, including the cryptography underlying shielded transactions. The Zodl wallet is built for shielded Zcash and adds wallet-level protections, one-click shielding of transparent balances, and encrypted shielded notes. Swaps are powered by NEAR Intents, hardware-wallet cold storage uses Keystone (described as the first hardware wallet to support shielded ZEC), and retail checkout uses Flexa. All code is stated to be open-source and publicly auditable.
Go-to-market
Direct distribution of a free consumer mobile app through the App Store, Google Play, F-Droid and GitHub, supported by a company blog, help desk and Discord community, plus ecosystem partnerships (NEAR Intents, Keystone, Flexa) that extend wallet functionality.
Users of Zcash and cryptocurrency holders seeking financial privacy, including newcomers to crypto; the company frames its audience broadly as people who want to transact privately without financial surveillance, with a stated ambition to reach billions of users.
History
Core Zcash protocol development and the Zashi wallet originated at Electric Coin Company, which launched Zashi in 2024. In January 2026 the entire ECC team, including protocol engineers and the wallet product team, left ECC and formed Zcash Open Development Lab under former ECC CEO Josh Swihart. On February 16, 2026 the company announced the rebrand of Zashi to Zodl; the App Store rebrand shipped in late February and the Android version went live on Google Play on March 2, 2026, with F-Droid, GitHub and Solana dApp Store rebrands pending. On March 9, 2026 ZODL announced it had raised more than $25 million.
Risks & controversies
Key metrics on shielded-pool growth and swap volume are self-reported by the company. The business depends on a single cryptocurrency ecosystem (Zcash/ZEC) and on third-party integrations (NEAR Intents, Keystone, Flexa). A company blog post title references a Zcash vulnerability that was remediated, though no details appear in the retrieved sources. The privacy-focused nature of the product carries regulatory exposure not addressed in the available material.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Competitors · 10
by search overlap
Companies competing with Zodl for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline · 5
launches, deals, and filingsZcash Open Development Lab announced a funding round of more than $25 million with participation from Paradigm, a16z crypto, Winklevoss Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Cypherpunk Technologies, Maelstrom, Chapter One and angel investors including Balaji Srinivasan, David Friedberg, Haseeb Qureshi, Mert and James Nicholas. Proceeds are earmarked for hiring engineers and other talent.
$25M source ↗
The rebranded Zodl wallet became available on Google Play, with Swap and CrossPay UI improvements and bug fixes. Rebranding for F-Droid, GitHub and the Solana dApp Store was noted as still pending.
ZODL announced that the Zashi wallet would be renamed Zodl in an upcoming app update, with no user action required and no change to the user experience, alongside the launch of the zodl.com site.
The wallet was rebranded from Zashi to Zodl on the Apple App Store in the week preceding the March 2, 2026 Android release.
In January 2026 the full ECC team, including the engineers behind the Zcash protocol and the product team behind the Zashi wallet, left Electric Coin Company and formed a new company, Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL), founded by former ECC CEO Josh Swihart. The stated rationale was to drive Zcash growth and ZEC adoption without reliance on the Zcash development fund.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Zodlzodl.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Zodl do?
- Zcash Open Development Lab builds core Zcash protocol software and Zodl, a shielded-ZEC self-custody mobile wallet.
- Who founded Zodl?
- Zodl was founded by Josh Swihart.
- Who are Zodl's investors?
- Zodl's investors include a16z crypto, Balaji Srinivasan, Digital Currency Group, Paradigm, Winklevoss Capital.
- How much funding has Zodl raised?
- Zodl has disclosed $50M raised across 2 rounds.