The Zcash Foundation's board appointed Alex Bornstein executive director on November 1, 2025, the nonprofit said in a post on its site1. Bornstein had served as interim executive director since March 2025. The board then made the role permanent, DL News reported2.
Five leadership moves at the Zcash Foundation on the record since 2020
Every move CryptoLately has verified there, by the day it became public
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| July 31, 2020 | Cincinnati left as Executive Director. Josh Cincinnati left as Executive Director of the Zcash Foundation |
| July 31, 2020 | Cincinnati left as Executive Director. Josh Cincinnati left as Executive Director of the Zcash Foundation |
| March 4, 2025 | Gavigan left as Executive Director. Jack Gavigan left as Executive Director of the Zcash Foundation |
| Nov. 1, 2025 | Bornstein became Executive Director. Alex Bornstein was named Executive Director of the Zcash Foundation |
| Nov. 11, 2025 | Delano became COO. Danika Delano was named Chief Operating Officer of the Zcash Foundation |
59 executive hires on the record in 2025, the most of any year
Executive hires CryptoLately has verified, by year; 2026 through Oct. 2, 2026
- 2025: 59
- 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 11 |
| 2020 | 12 |
| 2021 | 27 |
| 2022 | 37 |
| 2023 | 20 |
| 2024 | 39 |
| 2025 | 59 |
| 2026 | 45 |
The move
A Zcash Foundation board member credited Bornstein with steadying the organization. “Alex stepped up as interim CEO during uncertain times and quickly became pivotal in restoring trust and cooperation across our organizations. His deep expertise in Foundation operations, clear communication, and long-term Zcash vision make him the right person to lead ZF into its next chapter,” the board member said1. Bornstein named his own priority in the same post. "Zcash's future will be defined by bold coordination and relentless execution," he said, crediting partners such as Electric Coin Co., Shielded Labs and the Zcash Community Grants program.
The post said Bornstein would push the Zebra node software toward wider adoption. It also said he would work to retire an older piece of software called zcashd, calling that a "critical milestone" for the protocol1. The Foundation added that it planned to expand its Shielded Aid Initiative and run a 2026 event strategy.
Zcash before and after
DL News reported that Bornstein's appointment came the same week as two more promotions. Pili Guerra moved from engineering manager to head of engineering. Danika Delano became chief operating officer2. Both had joined the Foundation in 2020. Guerra came from the Tor Project, and Delano had organized the Foundation's grant programs and its annual Zcon conference, DL News reported. DL News tied the appointments to a price run. It reported that Zcash's ZEC token had risen more than 1,000 percent over 2025 and touched a high of $723 on November 7, a level the token had skipped since 2018.
What to watch
The Foundation named specific commitments for Bornstein's first year. These include deprecating zcashd, growing Zebra's adoption and expanding funding beyond the Zcash ecosystem1. A future Foundation blog post on Zebra's node share, or an update on zcashd's retirement, would show whether the plan matched what the Foundation delivered.
Sources
- Zcash Foundation, "Board Appoints Alex Bornstein as Executive Director," Zcash Foundation blog, November 3, 2025, https://zfnd.org/board-appoints-alex-bornstein-as-executive-director/
- Tim Craig, "Zcash Foundation shakes up leadership amidst blockchain token's 1,000% price rally," DL News, November 12, 2025, https://www.dlnews.com/articles/people-culture/zcash-foundation-shakes-up-leadership-amidst-zec-token-price-rally/