The Ethereum-based project Zipcoin announced its immediate closure on October 22, 2026. This decision follows two security breaches within a single week, including a full compromise of the project's codebase discovered on October 21. Following the announcement, the value of the ZC token dropped by 84% in one day.
The first security incident occurred on October 15, linked to UNCX, resulting in the theft of 1.1% of the total ZC supply, or approximately 11 million tokens. The team subsequently performed a quiet buyback of the stolen assets, disclosing this action only upon the project's shutdown. The total supply of ZC is fixed at 1 billion tokens.
The project team currently retains control over 2.2% of the total supply, amounting to roughly 22 million tokens. They intend to sell these remaining holdings following a brief exit window provided for existing token holders. At its peak, the project reached a market capitalization of approximately $40 million.
Zipcoin launched in late September 2026 as an ERC-20 token focused on privacy features, such as shielded transactions via Privacy Pools and an on-chain messaging tool called the Book. The project was inspired by a fictional currency from a novel by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, though it maintained no official affiliation with him.
