Zcash Seals Flawed Pool, Activates New Ironwood Upgrade with Quantum-Resilient Features
The Zcash network activated its Ironwood upgrade on July 28, marking one of the most dramatic infrastructure swaps in crypto history. The new Ironwood pool received $80 million worth of ZEC in its first day, representing about 5% of the roughly 3.66 million ZEC that sat in the now-sealed Orchard pool.
The Zcash team chose to seal the Orchard pool due to a real soundness bug discovered in its proof circuit on May 29, 2026. This vulnerability had existed since Orchard launched in May 2022, allowing for potential token counterfeiting without detection.
To mitigate this risk, Zcash implemented a 'turnstile mechanism' that limits outflows from the sealed pool to verified deposits. This means users can only withdraw what has been proven to have been legitimately deposited into Orchard initially.