Zcash Activates Ironwood Upgrade, Replaces Vulnerable Orchard Shielded Pool

Zcash has completed its Ironwood network upgrade, replacing the vulnerable Orchard shielded pool with a formally verified alternative. The new pool is designed to prevent undetectable counterfeiting and begins the migration of shielded funds into the new system.

The activation of Ironwood was a major milestone for the Zcash network, following months of work across multiple organizations after researchers disclosed a flaw that could have enabled counterfeit ZEC to be created without public detection. The new pool replaces Orchard, which has entered an exit-only phase and can no longer accept new shielded activity.

According to data from Zcash's migration tracker, approximately 40,207 ZEC have already moved into Ironwood, while nearly 3.6 million ZEC remain in Orchard awaiting migration. The token briefly fell around 9% to $460 after the upgrade before recovering to roughly $475.