TLDR
- Zcash’s Ironwood network upgrade is confirmed for July 28, 2026
- Ironwood replaces the Orchard pool, which had an “infinity” counterfeiting bug
- ZEC has recovered to ~$492 after dropping 50% to $299 following the bug disclosure
- Futures Open Interest rose 18% in 24 hours to $914.91 million following the announcement
- Over 80% of Zcash’s 21 million maximum supply has now been issued
Zcash’s Ironwood mainnet upgrade has been confirmed for July 28, 2026. Core developer Sean Bowe announced the activation height has been set at block 3428143, with commitment from all major organizations involved in the Zcash ecosystem.
The upgrade is a direct response to an “infinity” bug found in May in Zcash’s Orchard pool — the main private transaction pool on the network. The bug theoretically allowed counterfeit ZEC tokens to be created without detection.
Ironwood closes the Orchard pool and prevents any new activity within it. A new shielded pool replaces it, adding formal verification, independent audits, and quantum-recoverable note formats.
LATEST: ⚡ Zcash developers say they're nearing a mathematical proof that the upcoming Ironwood shielded pool has no hidden counterfeiting bugs. pic.twitter.com/5AmpKYSOEz
— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) July 8, 2026
When users move funds from Orchard into the new Ironwood pool, they must pass through an accounting checkpoint. This process could reveal whether any counterfeit tokens were ever actually created.
Shielded Labs had previously pushed for a delay, warning that exchanges, wallets, and mining pools needed more time to prepare. The final launch date of July 28 is one week later than the original target of July 21.
ZEC Price Recovers After 50% Drop
ZEC fell sharply after the Orchard bug was disclosed on June 3. The price dropped 50%, falling from $602.68 to a low of $299.25. Since then, ZEC has climbed back to around $492.61.
Analyst Vishal Dixit of FXStreet noted that ZEC is trading above its 50-day EMA at $457 and its 200-day EMA at $388. He identified the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level at $520 as the next key resistance level.
Developer Sean Bowe posted the activation height confirmation on X, stating all major organizations are committed to the July 28 launch. The post was met with increased market activity.
Derivatives Show Increased Trader Interest
CoinGlass data shows ZEC futures Open Interest climbed 18% in 24 hours to $914.91 million. Trading volume rose roughly 10% to $1.66 billion in the same period.
The positive funding rate hit 0.0105%, showing traders are paying a premium to hold long positions.
Separately, Zcash crossed a supply milestone this week. More than 80% of its 21 million maximum ZEC supply has now been issued, with 16,806,723 ZEC currently in circulation according to a post by ruZCASH on Monday.
