It would appear the notorious ZCash project has hit a fair few hurdles in recent days. Not only is there a trademark dispute regarding the ZCash name, but it seems the price of this altcoin is collapsing as well. Finding a solution to either of these problems may be further away than most people realize. All of the developments are rather worrisome for anyone holding ZEC as part of their portfolio. 

The Trademark Problem

A lot of people were surprised when the ZCash team announced the trademark problem. For some unknown reason, there is a dispute between the ZCash Foundation and the Electric Coin Company, While there was a plan to share responsibility for the trademark, it seems the sides are no longer seeing eye to eye regarding this matter. A problematic situation, as it puts a very negative spin on this altcoin project as a whole. 

It would appear a resolution to this dispute is further away than ever before. Private discussions between both parties are ongoing. That in itself is pretty odd, considering how cryptocurrencies are all about decentralization. With two centralized entities now arguing over the trademarked name, the future of this project seems rather unclear. Further clarification is expected to be made public in the weeks to come, assuming it isn’t too late by then. 

Community has Many Questions

Disputes like these show how different ZCash is run compared to nearly all other cryptocurrencies on the market. While one can defend the use of a foundation, actively trademarking the project’s name might have been a grave error. It is often done for precautionary reasons, yet it also shows the team behind the scenes had specific intentions for this privacy-oriented currency. 

Bitcoin, for example, is not a trademarked name. Some may think that is a mistake, given how much money could have been made through the trademark alone. Then again, Bitcoin was never about making money for just the creator or team. Instead, it is an open and decentralized project for the whole world ZCash seemingly falls into a completely different category altogether. A world where trademarks need to be disputed seems far removed from the true nature of cryptocurrencies. 

ZEC Price Tanks Hard

It will not come as much of a surprise to see the ZEC price drop quite hard. This trend has been in place for some time now. While the crypto winter of 2018 can be blamed for some of it, these developments will not offer any improvements whatsoever.  The current ZCash ROI is minus nearly 99%, further confirming things are not going according to plan. Its all-time high of just under $6,000 will not be reached again either. The low of $26.15, however, is coming closer every single day. 

As can be seen from the Tweet above, the ZEC price keeps many people busy. Nick Cote certainly raises some interesting points, although it remains to be seen where this market will end up at in a few months from today. The current conditions may prove lucrative for traders and speculators, as there may be some money to be made with ZEC. For everyone else, however, things look very bleak.