Zcash is bouncing back after last week’s sharp selloff, which saw its token drop about 30% after news of a major bug in the Orchard protocol. Orchard is a core part of Zcash’s privacy system, and the flaw could, in theory, have allowed unlimited counterfeit ZEC to be created without detection since May 2022.
The vulnerability was uncovered by security researcher Taylor Hornby using Anthropic’s Opus AI, and he disclosed it to the developers, triggering an emergency fix by early June. Developers first halted Orchard activity with a temporary soft fork, then restored normal operation with a permanent network upgrade.
Since then, ZEC has rebounded as the network’s longer-term repair plan took shape. That plan now centers on Ironwood, the next network upgrade, after developers finalized its consensus rule changes on June 9 and set activation for late July.
Ironwood is being framed as the key confidence story because it adds a new shielded pool and a migration path designed to bring supply transparency, giving the network a clearer way to verify the amount of ZEC in circulation. The next milestone is Ironwood’s launch in late July.