Overview
- Developers executed emergency network fixes from June 3–5 to repair a soundness/forgery bug in the Orchard shielded pool that dates to about 2022.
- Shielded Labs commissioned Anthropic’s restricted Mythos model, and Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox announced on June 14–15 that the AI review found no new serious or critical vulnerabilities beyond the already‑patched issue.
- Markets reacted strongly: ZEC rose roughly 14–25%, daily trading volume climbed about 62% above its 30‑day average, open interest rose about 26% to $1.14 billion, and more than $13 million in short positions were liquidated.
- Governance approved the Ironwood upgrade on June 12 for late‑July activation to introduce a repaired shielded pool and turnstile‑style accounting that aims to let node operators verify circulating supply without revealing user transactions.
- Key uncertainty remains because Orchard’s zero‑knowledge design hides amounts and prevents cryptographic proof that the bug was never exploited, a limit that has left some traders and regulators skeptical and prompted actions such as the Philippines’ ban on listing privacy coins.