Zcash Ironwood Upgrade Brings New Shielded Pool and Turnstile

The Zcash network is set to undergo significant changes on July 28 with the activation of the Ironwood upgrade, codenamed NU6.3.

This update introduces a new shielded pool and a controlled migration mechanism called a turnstile, which constrains value leaving the existing Orchard pool and entering the new one for supply verification.

The legacy zcashd client has reached end-of-life support and will not carry users through the upgrade, making Zebra 6.0.0 or newer the recommended path forward for nodes and wallet operators.

Users are advised to update their software, pause new Orchard deposits, back up their wallet data, and test a small transaction in the new shielded pool after activation.