Key facts
- Shielded Labs suggests Zcash's Ironwood upgrade might be delayed.
- The delay is due to ecosystem participants needing more time to prepare for the upgrade and migrate to new software.
- Ironwood aims to replace the Orchard private transaction pool following the discovery of an 'infinity' bug.
- Zcash is also retiring its zcashd software for a new stack including Zebra, Zaino, and Zallet.
- Some components of the new Z3 stack are still under development.
- No final decision on a delay has been made.
Shielded Labs has indicated that Zcash's upcoming Ironwood network upgrade might face a delay. The primary concern is that exchanges, mining pools, and wallets may require additional time to complete the migration to the new Z3 software stack and prepare for the upgrade, which is currently slated for late July.
Jason McGee, executive director of Shielded Labs, noted in a community forum post that ecosystem participants are being asked to simultaneously manage the Ironwood upgrade and replace the long-standing zcashd node and wallet software with the Z3 stack. This situation presents a trade-off between rapidly restoring confidence in Zcash's shielded supply and ensuring sufficient time for safe deployment and auditing of the new infrastructure.
The Ironwood upgrade was proposed after researchers identified an 'infinity' bug in Orchard, Zcash's primary private transaction pool. While developers stated there was no evidence of exploitation, the bug could theoretically allow for the creation of unlimited counterfeit ZEC tokens. Ironwood would introduce a replacement private pool and prevent new activity in the existing Orchard pool, with funds exiting Orchard needing to pass through an accounting checkpoint to verify the circulating supply.
Simultaneously, Zcash is phasing out zcashd, the software many participants use to connect to the network. The new Z3 stack includes Zebra for node operations, Zaino for blockchain data, and Zallet for wallet functions. Official guidance suggests that some zcashd functions may not have direct replacements, potentially requiring system modifications. McGee highlighted that Zallet and Zaino are still in development, and feedback from infrastructure providers indicates a mixed readiness for the late July timeline.
Despite these concerns, Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox stated that security reviews have not uncovered further significant bugs, and developers are working on verifying the new system prior to Ironwood's activation. No definitive decision regarding a delay has been made.