Zcash will disable its previous Orchard shielded pool on July 28 to contain a critical bug that risks hidden counterfeit coins.
The Ironwood network upgrade, set to activate at block 3,428,143, will retire the old Orchard pool and implement a new shielded pool with corrected cryptography. After activation, users cannot send or receive ZEC in the deprecated pool. Any funds exiting must pass through a control mechanism called the turnstile, which limits the amount of ZEC leaving the old pool to the legitimate total that entered.
The flaw was discovered on May 29 by security researcher Taylor Hornby during an audit. It could have allowed creation of counterfeit ZEC within the shielded pool without public trace. Although developers believe exploitation is unlikely and found no evidence of unauthorized value creation, the privacy of Orchard transactions prevents absolute proof that no fake coins exist.
Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox detailed the approach on July 19, emphasizing that while the upgrade cannot identify or freeze individual counterfeit coins, it will trap any excess supply inside the old pool, preventing them from entering broader circulation.
Users can expect possible temporary disruptions as exchanges and wallets prepare for the upgrade. No immediate action is required from Zcash holders.
This material is informational and not financial advice.
