Zcash Ironwood upgrade nears testnet launch with no critical bugs found
In brief
- Ironwood introduces new shielded pool and accounting system to verify supply while preserving privacy
- May's Orchard flaw exposed four-year-old vulnerability that could create unlimited counterfeit ZEC
- ZEC crashed from $600 to $300 after disclosure; recovered to $457
- Testnet activation expected shortly; mainnet target is late July
- Wallet readiness is the outstanding concern, not technical readiness
The Orchard Vulnerability and Recovery
Security researcher Taylor Hornby uncovered a four-year-old flaw in Zcash's Orchard shielded pool that could have allowed unlimited counterfeit ZEC to be created without detection. Developers patched the bug on June 1, but the panic around the disclosure was swift and severe. ZEC lost more than half its value in two days, falling from more than $600 to around $300. ZEC has since recovered about half those losses, recently trading at $457.
Ironwood's Path to Mainnet
Testnet activation of the new consensus rules is expected shortly, according to Jason McGee of Shielded Labs. The current goal is to complete both Ironwood and Z3 stack migration efforts by late July. Sean Bowe, a Zcash developer, noted that sufficient hash rate is signaling technical readiness for the mainnet upgrade. The outstanding concern is that some wallets will not be prepared for the upgrade in time.
Work is continuing on formal verification of the new circuit, with the goal of completing a proof of soundness before Ironwood activates. Key Z3 components, including Zallet and Zaino, are still under development, leaving exchanges, mining pools, and wallet providers with limited time to deploy and test before the upgrade goes live.
Focus on Enterprise Readiness
Teams at Project Tachyon, Valar Group, ZODL, the Zcash Foundation, and Shielded Labs have been working on Ironwood and have made significant progress over the past several weeks. Zcash co-founder Zooko Wilcox emphasized that Shielded Labs' focus is on security and supporting enterprise users to prepare for the transition to Ironwood.
"At Shielded Labs our focus has been security, and in particular our new project, which we are calling Zero, of supporting enterprise users (e.g. mining pools, exchanges, and wallets). Our current focus within the Zero project is to help them prepare to safely make the transition to Ironwood." — Zooko Wilcox, Zcash co-founder
