Wu said that the core contributors to the Zcash ecosystem, Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL), announced a new network upgrade proposal and privacy pool called Ironwood in collaboration with Tachyon, Valar Group, Zcash Foundation, and Shielded Labs. Ironwood will be built based on the existing Orchard protocol and further enhanced through formal verification and additional independent audits.

According to the plan, all ZEC supply in Orchard will be migrated to Ironwood via the "Turnstile" mechanism, which allows anyone to independently verify the circulating supply of Zcash, ensuring that the amount of ZEC in circulation does not exceed the actual amount entering the new pool. After the upgrade, the Orchard pool will close new deposits and internal transactions, allowing funds to migrate to Ironwood only through Turnstile. It is reported that Ironwood is planned to be activated by the end of July 2026, after zcashd support is discontinued (block height 3,417,100), but the exact timing still depends on testing, review, and ecosystem coordination progress.