Key Highlights
- More than 182,000 ZEC have migrated into Ironwood since the NU6.3 upgrade was activated on July 28.
- Over 51,700 ZEC moved into the new shielded pool during the past 24 hours, according to the live migration dashboard.
- Orchard no longer accepts new shielded deposits, with remaining funds gradually exiting through a protocol-controlled “turnstile.”
More than 182,000 ZEC have already migrated into Zcash’s newly activated Ironwood shielded pool, marking an early milestone in the network’s transition following its biggest privacy upgrade in years.
The NU6.3 “Ironwood” upgrade went live at block 3,428,143 on July 28, replacing Orchard as Zcash’s primary shielded pool. Since activation, users have steadily begun moving funds into Ironwood as the protocol shifts private transactions to its new privacy infrastructure.
The migration follows weeks of preparation after Zcash developers rolled out the upgrade to replace Orchard with a redesigned shielded pool featuring stronger cryptographic protections.
Ironwood sees early migration momentum
A public migration dashboard maintained by Zodl shows approximately 182,001 ZEC has already entered Ironwood, including more than 51,700 ZEC transferred during the past 24 hours.
According to the migration dashboard, the network currently holds 12.5 million ZEC in transparent addresses, while approximately 3.5 million ZEC remains in the Orchard pool. Around 182,000 ZEC has already migrated to Ironwood, roughly 581,380 ZEC is still in Sapling, and only a small balance remains in the legacy Sprout pool.
The migration tracker also performs a continuous supply check, confirming that balances across every pool continue matching Zcash’s expected circulating supply throughout the transition.
Before the upgrade, Orchard held roughly 3.5 million ZEC, making it the network’s largest shielded pool. While those balances remain accessible, users can now only move funds out through a protocol-level turnstile, a mechanism designed to ensure the amount exiting Orchard never exceeds the amount legitimately held there.
Why Zcash replaced the Orchard pool
Ironwood became necessary after developers identified a flaw in Orchard’s proof circuit earlier this year.
While the issue could theoretically have enabled counterfeit ZEC to be created inside the shielded pool, core developer Sean Bowe, together with engineers from Shielded Labs and the Zcash Open Development Lab, previously said they found no evidence that the vulnerability had ever been exploited on the live network.
The issue was initially mitigated through the NU6.2 emergency upgrade before Ironwood was introduced as Orchard’s long-term successor.
With NU6.3 now active, Orchard no longer accepts new shielded transactions. All new private transfers are processed through the Ironwood pool, wallets, and exchanges must support the updated v6 transaction format, and Zebra has become the network’s primary supported node software following the retirement of zcashd.
ZEC holds above $460
The network transition has generated steady on-chain activity without significantly disrupting market participation. As of July 29, ZEC traded around $462.85, down approximately 9.5% over the previous seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Despite the price decline, Zcash continued to see 24-hour trading volume rising about 2% to approximately $324 million, while its market capitalization stood at roughly $7.77 billion and its circulating supply remained at 16.79 million ZEC.
Community sentiment also remained positive, with CoinMarketCap showing elevated user engagement following Ironwood’s activation despite the recent price correction.
Migration will continue gradually
Unlike a mandatory network migration, Ironwood’s adoption depends entirely on users voluntarily moving funds from Orchard. Because Orchard still contains roughly 3.5 million ZEC, the transition is expected to continue over an extended period as wallets, exchanges, and individual holders gradually migrate their shielded balances.
Wallet providers including Cake Wallet have already rolled out Ironwood support, giving users multiple options to begin transferring funds into the new privacy pool.
With more than 182,000 ZEC already migrated shortly after activation, the early figures suggest users have begun embracing Ironwood as Zcash enters its next phase of shielded transactions.
Also Read: Solana to Expand Block Limit From 60M to 100M CUs in Major Upgrade
