Zcash developers have proposed the Ironwood upgrade to address a critical counterfeiting bug in the Orchard privacy pool, which was patched last week after being undetected since 2022. The bug could have allowed an attacker to create unlimited fake ZEC. Ironwood would create a new, corrected privacy pool and allow anyone running Zcash software to verify the total supply of ZEC, ensuring no counterfeit coins remain. As users migrate funds from the old pool, any fake coins would be exposed or destroyed. ZEC has rebounded about 45% from its recent low near $300 to around $437, though still down 22% on the week. The proposal was developed by Shielded Labs, the Zcash Foundation, and the Zcash Open Development Lab, with support from mining pools ViaBTC and Foundry. A firm timeline for the upgrade has not been set.

Key facts

• Critical counterfeiting bug in Zcash's Orchard pool discovered, patched within days.
• Ironwood upgrade proposed to create a new privacy pool and allow supply verification.
• Users migrating funds from old pool would expose or destroy any counterfeit ZEC.
• ZEC rebounded 45% from low to $437 but still down 22% on the week.
• Developers: exploit unlikely; no firm timeline for Ironwood activation.