Key Highlights
- THORChain’s ZEC liquidity pool is now live following a network churn on October 2.
- All THORChain nodes are now monitoring the Zcash network.
- THORChain warned that liquidity is currently shallow and advised caution during the early stage.
THORChain has activated a Zcash (ZEC) liquidity pool after completing a network-wide node churn, adding ZEC to its cross-chain liquidity infrastructure.
In an October 2 post on X, THORChain said all of its nodes were now monitoring the Zcash chain. The protocol said trading would be the next step but did not provide a specific activation date.
The pool is now live, while native ZEC swaps remain unavailable.
ZEC pool goes live with limited liquidity
THORChain said the ZEC pool is live but warned that liquidity remains limited during the initial phase.
“Trading is the next step.”
The protocol also cautioned:
“Liquidity is shallow for now and will grow over time, so trade with caution in the early days.”
THORChain did not provide a specific pool-depth figure or a firm timeline for activating native ZEC trading.
Limited liquidity can increase price impact and slippage, particularly for larger transactions.
Community questions shielded ZEC support
The launch has prompted questions from some Zcash users about whether the integration supports shielded ZEC transactions.
Several replies to THORChain’s announcement asked whether shielded ZEC could be swapped through the new pool.
THORChain’s announcement did not specify whether shielded transactions are supported, so the scope of shielded-ZEC functionality remains unclear.
THORChain completes Zcash integration work
The pool launch follows earlier technical work to add Zcash support to THORChain.
THORChain’s v3.16.0 upgrade added native Zcash support, including chain-specific UTXO handling and RPC logic, and also added ZEC support to the enshrined oracle.
Further development continued into September, including changes addressing ZEC transaction expiry and signing consistency between nodes.
The October 2 pool activation follows that earlier integration work and moves Zcash support into the live liquidity-pool stage.
Shielded labs advances Zcash security work
The THORChain integration comes shortly after a separate Zcash development from Shielded Labs.
On October 1, Shielded Labs launched Epoch, a research and engineering project focused on developing post-quantum cryptography and applying formal verification to critical Zcash cryptographic components.
The project is targeting a production-ready implementation by the end of 2027, with a stated goal of providing at least 128 bits of security for confidentiality and soundness.
Shielded Labs said the work is intended to complement other Zcash initiatives, including Project Tachyon. An interim measure introduced with the NU6.3 upgrade also made Ironwood notes quantum-recoverable.
The Epoch project is separate from THORChain’s ZEC integration.
Trading activation remains pending
For now, the main development is the activation of the ZEC pool and THORChain’s network support for Zcash.
Native ZEC trading has not yet been enabled, and the protocol has not announced a specific activation date.
The next phase will depend on when swaps are enabled and how liquidity develops once trading begins.
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