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Ahmed Barakat
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The developers of Zcash have completed the changes to the consensus rules for the Ironwood upgrade, following the end of July. The aim is to initiate the opening of the block height 3,417,100 to deal with the large risk in the Orchard security pool which showed that the ZEC network is created without limits.
The upgrade introduces a secure pool, strengthens the flow of products through existing systems, and stops new payments coming to the compromised Orchard pool, all with the help of proven zero-certification circuits and an independent third-party security review.
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The Orchard Pool Bug: Ironwood Fixes Zcash
Orchard Pool was introduced in May 2022 as part of the NU5 upgrade, which brought the Halo 2 experience. Zcash and positioning the Orchard as a private sector for the next generation. It is a secure environment that supports zero-knowledge to hide the number of transactions and the addresses of the participants without the establishment of trust.
The flaw discovered in early 2026 was in the Orchard protocol: the attacker was able to create a fake ZEC without the chain being recognized through proper authentication.
This problem meant that all ZEC funds that were subject to the agreement were not tied up within the Orchard pool. Because Zcash’s infrastructure is what makes Orchard private, the same thing that protects user credentials also creates unauthorized leaks invisible to outside observers, and, more importantly, to the Zcash development team itself.
AI-assisted security checks by outside researchers uncovered the flaw, leading to calm and a coordinated disclosure before Ironwood was exposed.
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Turnstile, New Pool, and Supply Verification
Ironwood was jointly provided by ZODL, Tachyon, Valar Group, Zcash Foundation, and Shielded Labs, a multi-party governance group that differentiates this solution from a single entity.
The basic upgrade mechanism is a redesigned part of Orchard that includes a flag that can stop payments to certain users within the pool while maintaining the ability to create editable posts, which Bowe described as privacy protection.
Once activated, the flag will be permanently lit at the Orchard pool, preventing it valueBalance field and direct all new Orchard payments automatically to the replacement pool.
The management of Ironwood managed products relies on a pre-optimized protocol; Every ZEC leaving the old Orchard pool must pass through the river before entering the new pool, and the turnstile ensures that the total value of the exit from the old pool cannot exceed the value it entered.
Bowe said: “This integration allows ZEC to work with existing exchange systems; the amount of ZEC that anyone can do is the amount that needs to be there.”
Once the migration is complete, the on-chain data will allow each node to verify that no fraudulent ZEC has passed through the new pool, restoring trustless authentication at the protocol level for the first time since the attack.
The opening target coincides with zcashd ending support at block 3,417,100. Testnet testing, environmental integration, and final security checks are still good before the mainnet launch. Orchard wallet providers are expected to provide one-click transfer tools, and the new pool is designed to store existing addresses, avoiding changes in users’ passwords.
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