Today marks a bittersweet milestone for the Zcash Foundation as we bid farewell to Jack Gavigan (aka Dodger), our Executive Director, who stepped down after four years of dedicated service. Jack’s tenure has been nothing short of transformative, and his leadership has left an indelible mark on the Zcash ecosystem.
Jack began his career working with startups during the dot-com boom of the late ‘90s. He subsequently spent over a decade working in financial technology with major institutions like Morgan Stanley, where he also spent a year as a trader.
Prior to his role at the Foundation, Jack served as COO and Head of Regulatory Relations at the Electric Coin Company (ECC), where he helped launch Zcash and played a pivotal role in fostering its growth. His work at ECC included collaborating with JP Morgan on integrating privacy-preserving technology into their Quorum blockchain platform, showcasing his ability to bridge traditional finance and cutting-edge cryptographic solutions.
Jack also worked extensively with regulators and policymakers to educate them on cryptocurrencies and privacy-preserving technologies. His efforts were instrumental in helping Zcash gain regulatory acceptance, such as its listing on Gemini Exchange after approval from the New York Department of Financial Services. Furthermore, he contributed to shaping global cryptocurrency regulations through his participation in meetings with organizations like FATF, advocating for balanced approaches that support innovation while addressing compliance concerns.
Jack joined the Zcash Foundation in early 2021, bringing with him this wealth of experience in traditional finance coupled with a deep understanding of Zcash’s mission.
At the Zcash Foundation, Jack’s leadership drove several major milestones, most notably spearheading the development of Zebra, which is a Rust-based implementation of the Zcash protocol. Zebra provides a robust alternative to zcashd and lays a solid foundation for future innovations in privacy-preserving technology. Under his guidance, the Foundation also supported initiatives like FROST (Flexible Round-Optimized Schnorr Threshold Signatures), which enhances cryptographic usability for wallets and signing groups.
Jack’s strategic vision extended beyond technical advancements. He championed community engagement through the annual Zcon conferences, coordinated by the Zcash Foundation, and sought advisory input by running Zcash Community Advisory Panel (ZCAP) polls, to ensure that community voices shaped critical decisions. His efforts led to the adoption of ZIP 1015, which decentralized ecosystem funding by transitioning grants administration to the Cayman Islands-based Financial Privacy Foundation (FPF).
On behalf of the Zcash Foundation and the broader ecosystem, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Jack for his years of service. Thank you for your unwavering commitment to advancing financial privacy. Your legacy will inspire us as we continue building.
