Layer 1 blockchain
Zcash ticker ZEC
Summary
Equihash proof of work secures one ledger with a transparent pool, whose rules follow the Bitcoin Core code Zcash was forked from, and shielded pools whose notes are verified with zero-knowledge proofs. Shielded transfers hide sender, recipient and amount; value moving between pools reveals the amount, and no pool's running balance may go negative (the turnstile). Since NU6.3 (Ironwood) activated at Mainnet height 3,428,143 on 28 July 2026, shielded value can enter Sapling or the new Ironwood pool. The older Orchard pool, whose circuit bug was fixed in NU6.2 on 3 June 2026, accepts no new value; funds can only leave it. 12345679
Design
- System
- Layer 1 blockchain
- Settlement family
- Bitcoin family
- Scarce resource
- Work (proof of work)
- State model
- Mixed
- Finality
- Probabilistic
- Who makes blocks
- Miners propose blocks by proof of work; difficulty adjusts every block toward a 75-second target spacing since Blossom.
- Fork choice
- Nodes treat the valid chain with the greatest total work as best, preferring the first-received block to break ties. Confirmations reduce but never eliminate reorganization risk.
Qualifications
- State model · Partial. Transparent value uses a UTXO set; shielded value is encrypted notes with commitments and nullifiers. Neither alone describes the whole ledger, so the model is recorded as mixed.
- Settlement family · Partial. Zcash was forked from Bitcoin Core and its transparent pool follows the rules of that code base; the shielded pools, verified with zero-knowledge proofs, were added on top of it.
- Block explorer visibility · Partial. Explorers can show transparent addresses and amounts, but not addresses, amounts or memos of shielded transfers; an empty public result is not a zero shielded balance.
Tradeoffs
- Emphasizes
- Security and Decentralization
- Gives up
- Base-layer throughput: blocks target 75 seconds, and shielded transfers must carry zero-knowledge proofs and extra signatures in addition to ordinary transaction data. It also gives up simple public supply auditing: outsiders cannot add up shielded balances, so each shielded pool's supply depends on its proof circuit being correct, with per-pool balance checks as the backstop.Privacy is a separate design goal, not a trilemma corner; it depends on users choosing shielded pools and paths. The security emphasis has a real caveat: on 29 May 2026 a soundness bug was reported in the Orchard circuit that could have allowed undetected balance violation (counterfeit ZEC). Orchard was paused, fixed in NU6.2 and closed to new value in NU6.3. Shielded Labs says exploitation is unlikely but cannot be independently ruled out; the turnstile stops more ZEC leaving Orchard than entered it. NU7 plans 25-second block spacing; that is a plan, not an activation.
- Full node at home
- Practical at home 10Zebra lists a minimum of 2 CPU cores, 4 GB RAM and 300 GB disk (recommended 4 cores, 16 GB RAM, 100 Mbps with about 300 GB monthly traffic); initial sync downloads about 300 GB.
- Throughput claims
- No classified figure recorded
Scaling layers
No scaling layer recorded in this profile.
Capabilities
| Capability | How it is provided | Notes and sources |
|---|---|---|
| Account abstraction | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| Atomic swaps | Independent softwareLimited scope | Independent software, limited: DCRDEX, from the Decred developers, lists a Zcash wallet and settles its trades as on-chain atomic swaps; no first-party implementation is cited. Transparent scripts support multisignature, pay-to-script-hash and absolute timelocks (BIP 65 applies from genesis). Limits: relative timelocks (BIP 68) are not supported, shielded notes cannot carry scripts, and because the swap contract is a transparent script the swapped amount is public on chain (inferred from the script rules). 117 |
| Authenticated data publication | Unknown | Not yet assessed under this row's current definition. |
| Light clients | Unknown | Not yet assessed under the current definitions; lightwalletd serves compact blocks over gRPC for mobile light wallets, and those wallets depend on that server, which the project says has not had a thorough external audit. A light wallet that trusts a server is not light verification, and the cited source describes no light-verification method. 11 |
| Native staking or delegation | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| On-chain governance | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| Parallel execution | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| Payment or state channels | Unknown | No source was cited for absence, so the rule that absence needs a source makes this unknown. Earlier finding: no channel layer was found in reviewed sources; absence was not exhaustively verified. |
| Programmable spending | Partial (layer not stated) Earlier definition | Transparent inputs and outputs use Script inherited from Bitcoin Core; shielded transfers use fixed proof-verified descriptions rather than general spend scripts. 1 |
| Protocol-verified messaging | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| Reversible transfers or recovery | Unknown | Not yet assessed under the current definitions; transparent outputs support multisignature scripts and absolute timelocks, building blocks with which wallets can build escrow or refund-after-a-date paths in the transparent pool, but no cited source shows a sender-reclaim window or recovery path live. Relative timelocks are not supported, shielded notes have no spend scripts, and the protocol cannot reverse a confirmed payment. 1 |
| Rollups | Unknown | No source was cited for absence, so the rule that absence needs a source makes this unknown. Earlier finding: no rollup anchored to Zcash was found in reviewed sources; absence was not exhaustively verified. |
| Shielded transfers | Structured assessment pending | Not yet assessed for any chain. |
| Signed partial offers | Unknown | Not yet assessed under this row's current definition. |
Reading these values
- How this feature is provided
- Built into the protocol, core-team software or independent software says where a feature lives and who can change it. These are implementation layers, not quality: core-team software is not closer to the protocol than independent software.
- Structured assessment pending
- The shared review has not assessed this feature for any chain yet (Account abstraction, Native staking or delegation, On-chain governance, Parallel execution, Protocol-verified messaging and Shielded transfers). That does not mean it is absent, and a chain’s profile may already describe it.
- Unknown
- The review has not established this for this chain under the current definition; the note beside it says why. Unknown is not absent and not a low score. A feature reads “Not present” only when a source shows it is absent.
- Earlier definition
- Payment or state channels, Programmable spending and Rollups keep the earlier definition until the next fact-check. There, “Native” does not separate the protocol from core-team software, “Ecosystem software” does not say who publishes it, and “Partial” does not say which layer.
- Reading across rows
- The list of capabilities is incomplete. Do not read these rows as a chain leading or lagging overall.
Ecosystem & custody
| Product type | Status | Notes and sources |
|---|---|---|
| Automated market makers | Unknown | No source was cited for absence, so the rule that absence needs a source makes this unknown. Earlier finding: the base layer has no AMM and none was identified in reviewed sources; absence was not exhaustively verified. |
| Issuer-native stablecoins | Unknown | No source was cited for absence, so the rule that absence needs a source makes this unknown. Earlier finding: ZEC is the only native asset in reviewed sources and no native stablecoin was identified; absence was not exhaustively verified. |
| Algorithmic stablecoins | Unknown | No source was cited for absence, so the rule that absence needs a source makes this unknown. Earlier finding: none identified in reviewed sources; absence was not exhaustively verified. |
| Bridges | ThinNEAR Intents, THORChain (launch not confirmed), Maya Protocol (halted at review) | NEAR Intents lists Zcash on its proof-of-authority bridge. THORChain's developer docs list Zcash among its UTXO chains, but THORChain's 30 July 2026 post still expected Zcash to launch at a coming validator churn, and a live ZEC pool was not confirmed. Electric Coin Company announced ZEC live on Maya Protocol in May 2025, but Maya's node API showed its whole network, ZEC included, halted when checked on 27 September 2026. No widely used custodial wrapped ZEC token was reviewed. Risk: None of these is trust-minimized, and Zcash cannot verify anything about the other side. THORChain and Maya hold deposits in vaults controlled by threshold signatures among bonded node operators; THORChain says a supermajority, for example two-thirds, of its validators must sign to release funds. NEAR Intents' bridge uses a proof-of-authority model, and the reviewed page does not say who holds deposited ZEC. Maya's Zcash docs support only transparent addresses, so ZEC sent through Maya is publicly visible; which address types the other routes accept was not checked. 1819202122232425 |
| Block explorers | Established in the ecosystemBlockchair, Zcash Block Explorer (Nighthawk Apps) | Explorers show transparent activity and block structure; shielded addresses, amounts and memos are not visible to them. 91213 |
| Hardware wallets | Established in the ecosystemLedger, Trezor | See custody rows: Ledger documents transparent ZEC plus shielded ZEC in the Ironwood pool in Ledger Wallet Desktop; Trezor supports transparent addresses only. 1415 |
Hardware-wallet custody
| Device maker | Status | What users can and cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Ledger | Native supportSame as native: Unknown | Can: Hold transparent ZEC in Ledger Wallet Can: Add, send and receive shielded ZEC (Ironwood pool) in Ledger Wallet Desktop, approving each transaction on the device Cannot: Use shielded ZEC in Ledger Wallet mobile as of the 2026-09-23 announcement Cannot: Count on the shielded feature in every jurisdiction; Ledger says availability may vary Cannot: Rely on Ledger's announcement for Sapling or older Orchard shielded balances: it names only the Ironwood pool and does not say whether they can be spent or migratedLedger says shielded ZEC previously required a companion wallet; the desktop app now handles Ironwood-pool ZEC directly. The announcement names no device models and covers only one of Zcash's shielded pools, so it is not established that this matches full native Zcash support. 14 |
| Trezor | PartialSame as native: No | Can: Send and receive transparent ZEC (t-addresses) on all Trezor models in Trezor Suite Cannot: Make shielded (z-address) transactions 15 |
Public data
Your AI can request these lookups through the connection. The website itself runs no lookups. Networks: mainnet.
| Lookup | Status | What it covers and its limits |
|---|---|---|
| Address or account | Available | Blockchair-indexed mainnet t1/t3 transparent balance, totals, bounded transaction IDs and UTXOs. |
| Tokens and assets | Not applicable on this network | Native Zcash Layer 1 transparent UTXOs carry ZEC rather than a protocol-native token/NFT inventory. |
| NFTs | Not available yet | Not implemented in this build |
| Transactions | Available | One Blockchair-indexed mainnet transaction record with transparent inputs/outputs and limited shielded component counts. |
Sourced developments
Developments: Review overdue Reviewed Sep 25, 2026; next review was due Oct 5, 2026.
Publication date · newest first
-
Zebra 6.4.2 fixed a remotely triggerable denial of service
The Zebra 6.4.2 security release fixed a remotely triggerable denial of service when processing malformed V6 transactions. Its release notes advise operators of Zebra 6.4.0 or 6.4.1 to update as soon as possible.
- Stage:Release
Source: Zcash Foundation — Zebra 6.4.2 release (external site)
-
Zebra 6.4.1 fixed a near-tip sync stall
Zebra 6.4.1 fixed a regression that could leave synchronization permanently stalled after a restart near the chain tip.
- Stage:Release
Source: Zcash Foundation — Zebra 6.4.1 release (external site)
-
Community engineering timeline targets NU7 for November
A September 17 community engineering update reported planned NU7 testnet activation on October 6 and mainnet activation on November 5, 2026, with 25-second target spacing among the planned changes.
- Stage:Proposal
Sources: Zcash Community Forum — NU7 Timeline (external site) · Zcash ZIP editors — Zcash Improvement Proposals (external site)
-
Zallet published beta.3
Zallet's beta.3 release continued the wallet replacement work after its July beta releases. The project still labels the wallet beta and warns that breaking changes and missing RPC methods remain possible.
- Stage:Release
Sources: Zcash developers — Zallet 0.1.0-beta.3 release (external site) · Zcash developers — Zallet wallet status and security warnings (external site)
-
Zebra 6.0.0 added mainnet NU6.3 activation support
Zebra 6.0.0 configured NU6.3 activation at height 3,428,143 and incorporated the released NU6.3 protocol dependencies.
- Stage:Release
Sources: Zcash Foundation — Zebra 6.0.0 release (external site) · Zcash ZIP editors — ZIP 258: Deployment of NU6.3 (external site)
-
zcashd 6.20.0 shipped immediate NU6.2 support and Orchard fixes
zcashd 6.20.0 added support for NU6.2 at mainnet height 3,364,600, updated the Orchard circuit verifying key after disclosure of a critical implementation flaw, and enforced the valid proof-data length for Orchard proofs.
- Stage:Release
Source: Zcash developers — zcashd 6.20.0 release (external site)
-
Zashi 2.4.9 changed wallet privacy and performance controls
Electric Coin Company described Zashi 2.4.9 as a wallet UI and performance release. It removed a Coinbase integration because ECC judged recent changes to create unacceptable privacy risk, added an option to enable Tor before restore synchronization, and simplified exchange-rate retrieval to one provider.
- Stage:Release
Source: Electric Coin Company — Zashi 2.4.9 Is Faster! (external site)
Publication date unknown
-
NU6.3 activated Ironwood on mainnet
The official upgrade record says NU6.3 activated at mainnet height 3,428,143 on July 28, 2026. It introduced Ironwood and restricted new transfers into the original Orchard pool, with migration consequences for wallets.
- Stage:Activation
Sources: Zcash — Network Upgrade 6.3 (external site) · Zcash ZIP editors — ZIP 258: Deployment of NU6.3 (external site) · Zcash Foundation — Zebra 6.0.0 release (external site)
-
zcashd reached end of life before NU6.3
The deprecation notice says zcashd 6.20.0 halted at height 3,417,100 on July 18, 2026 and does not support NU6.3. Operators were directed to migrate node operation to Zebra.
- Stage:Deprecation
Topics your AI can explain
Your AI can explain these topics for Zcash through the connection, with sources.
Known gaps
What this profile's review did not establish:
- No throughput figure is listed; no primary-source rate was classified.
- No channel or rollup layer was found; absence was not exhaustively verified.
- Bridge routes were checked only from THORChain, NEAR Intents and Maya sources; custodial wrapped ZEC tokens on other chains were not searched, and THORChain's live node data could not be read, so whether its ZEC pool was open at review is unknown.
- Atomic swap tooling was checked only in DCRDEX's README; swap volume and which Zcash address types its swaps use were not verified.
- NU7 is not active as of review. A community forum timeline dated 17 September 2026 plans 25-second block spacing and targets Mainnet activation on 5 November 2026; the 75-second figures in this profile must be updated if it activates.
- NU6.3 (Ironwood) has activated and the move of funds out of Orchard is ongoing. The Nighthawk explorer showed about 380,000 ZEC still in Orchard when viewed on 2026-09-27; the migration's pace and wallet support for it were not otherwise reviewed.
- The protocol specification version reviewed (22 September 2026) is still labelled NU6.2 and ZIP 258, which defines NU6.3, is marked Draft; the activation date is taken from Zcash Foundation posts and Ledger's announcement.
- Shielded Labs says users cannot independently verify that no counterfeit ZEC was created in Orchard before the circuit fix. The turnstile stops more ZEC leaving Orchard than entered it; it does not show whether any was created inside the pool.
- Ledger's announcement does not name supported device models or say whether Sapling or older Orchard balances can be spent or migrated in Ledger Wallet.
Sources
Oldest dated source check: Source checked Sep 27, 2026 Next check due Oct 27, 2026.
- Zcash Protocol Specification (external site)
- ZIP 208: Shorter Block Target Spacing (external site)
- ZIP 209: Prohibit Out-of-Range Chain Value Pool Balances (external site)
- ZIP 257: Deployment of the Orchard Temporary Vulnerability Mitigation and NU6.2 Network Upgrade (external site)
- ZIP 258: Deployment of the NU6.3 Network Upgrade (status: Draft) (external site)
- Zebra 6.0.0 Release (external site)
- ZF Engineering Update - 10th to 23rd August 2026 (external site)
- Ironwood (external site)
- Is Zcash traceable? (external site)
- Zebra system requirements (external site)
- lightwalletd repository (external site)
- Blockchair API documentation (external site)
- Zcash Block Explorer (external site)
- New in Ledger Wallet: Native Shielded Zcash Support (external site)
- Keep your Zcash (ZEC) safe with Trezor (external site)
- NU7 Timeline (external site)
- DCRDEX and Bison Wallet repository (README) (external site)
- UTXO chain clients (external site)
- Network security and governance (external site)
- Bridging overview (external site)
- Maya Protocol documentation (external site)
- MAYAChain node API: inbound addresses (ZEC entry and halt flags) (external site)
- Zcash chain client (external site)
- Zcash + Maya: Privacy, Self-Sovereignty, and Decentralization (external site)
- Monero Gets a Soft Launch as THORChain's v3.20 Enters Testing and ADR31 Passes (external site)
Report an error
Found something wrong or out of date? Reporting is free, and every chain goes through the same process. Published corrections appear in the public log.
Funding disclosure
Funding disclosures appear here when an upkeep arrangement exists, in the form “Upkeep funded by [name]; verdicts unaffected.” The funder ledger has not been published yet. Neutrality & funding