- Zcash activated the Ironwood upgrade with a new shielded privacy pool.
- The older Orchard pool is now limited to withdrawals only.
- The upgrade improves security following a previously disclosed vulnerability.
Zcash has successfully activated its Ironwood network upgrade, introducing a new shielded pool designed to replace the vulnerable Orchard privacy pool.
The upgrade follows the discovery of a flaw in Orchard's zero-knowledge proof system that could have theoretically allowed attackers to create counterfeit ZEC without detection. While developers found no evidence the vulnerability was ever exploited, they prioritized replacing the pool to strengthen network security.
With Ironwood now live, Orchard will only support withdrawals, while users gradually migrate their funds into the new privacy pool.
Ironwood also introduces formal verification of its cryptographic system, significantly increasing confidence that the protocol behaves correctly under all conditions. The upgrade also includes new auditing tools and protections designed to preserve Zcash's fixed 21 million coin supply.
