Zcash Shielded News is a community article format based on the weekly Zcash Ecosystem Digest Newsletter.
Providing insight on current events and informing the community about important news in the Zcash ecosystem.
Check out the best Highlights below!
Fact of the Week: NU6.1 Activation
The upcoming network upgrade, Network Upgrade 6.1 (NU6.1) will introduce the “Community & Coinholder Funding Model”. 8% of block rewards will go to the (ZCG) for grants supporting the community, 12% will accrue to a coinholder controlled fund, seeded by the Deferred Dev Fund Lockbox.
IN TODAY’S EDITION 🌐 Zolana Bridge is live! • The Zolana Bridge officially launched, enabling seamless cross-chain transfers and expanding Zcash interoperability. 🔒 DC Privacy Summit | Summary of the event • The DC Privacy Summit gathered policymakers, technologists, and privacy advocates to explore how cryptography and regulation can coexist in protecting digital identity and freedom. 🗳️ BTCPayServer now supports Orchard Pool • ZCG announced Orchard and Unified Address support for the BTCPayServer plugin, allowing merchants to receive shielded ZEC directly through the newest privacy pool. 🛠️ Z3 Development Update — Oct 17 • The latest Z3 update highlights progress across outreach, Zebra, Zallet, and Zashi 🤖 Deus Ex Machina - ECC Update • ECC Weekly Update.
The community has been asking for a ZEC and Solana integration for a while, and now, thanks to NEAR’s ongoing development and constant updates, it’s finally here!
ZEC is on Solana!
Users now can swap any token to Wrapped ZEC & withdraw it on the Solana Network
This unlocks the first-ever ZEC on Solana connection, bridging Zcash’s privacy layer to Solana’s high-speed DeFi chain.
This is more than a bridge, It’s a gateway to connecting users, apps, and ecosystems through private, shielded liquidity.
Zolana (Zcash <> Solana via NEAR**)** connects NEAR, Solana, and Zcash through a unified liquidity network built on Chain Signatures, NEAR’s breakthrough multichain signing technology.
How it works?
A user goes to the @near_intents app → near-intents.org
They can swap any token (like ETH, SOL, or NEAR) for ZEC.
The system uses NEAR Intents to execute the swap automatically.
The resulting ZEC can then be withdrawn directly on the Solana network, appearing as a Solana-based ZEC token.
Behind the scenes, NEAR’s Wormhole Message Passing + Chain Signatures confirm and secure this cross-chain transaction.
Shielded Privacy + DeFi Speed
On the Zcash side, transactions can remain shielded (private).
On Solana, users can access high-speed DeFi apps, swaps, and liquidity pools.
Together, this creates private liquidity, bridging Zcash’s privacy layer with Solana’s performance.
What do you think? Go test it out! :)
The DC Privacy Summit is an annual event in Washington, D.C., organized by the ECC and Paul Brigner, bringing together leaders in technology, policy, and law to explore the future of privacy, security, and digital identity.
It serves as a bridge between the crypto and blockchain community and policy makers in Washington.
The summit’s mission: to spark meaningful dialogue on how to balance privacy, innovation, and regulation in today’s digital world.
Recently, Paul shared a highlight of what was discussed during the second edition.
Check out the summary below.
Arnaud Schenk — “You Underestimate Modern Cryptography” explores the power of modern cryptography and how to use it responsibly on public blockchains.
Matthew Green — “The Coming Privacy Forest Fire” warns about the rapid rise in data collection and how we can fight back.
Neha Narula — “The Limits of Technology in Achieving Privacy.” Why policy must complement cryptography.
Fireside chat: SEC Commissioner HesterPeirce on financial privacy, blockchain, and smart regulation
Panel — “How to Fight the Lazarus Group.” Real‑world threat response, information sharing, and DeFi security. @mike_orcutt (@projectglitch_) @m_mosier_ Casey G (@zeroshadow_io) @samczsun (@_SEAL_Org)
Fireside chat — “Why I’m Suing the DOJ.” Legal stakes for privacy tools and non‑custodial key management.
Peter Van Valkenburgh — “Hazy with a Chance of Privacy” offers a crypto privacy policy forecast covering legal cases, Congress, and digital identity.
Wei Dai — “The Privacy Trilemma.” Balancing usefulness, self‑sovereignty, and threat resistance on public chains.
Panel — “What ZK Can and Can’t Do for You”.
Panel — “How to Avoid a Dystopian Digital ID System.” EU wallet, age checks, and privacy‑by‑design with ZK and MPC.
Panel — “What the GENIUS Act Could Mean for Privacy and AML.” Standards, developer protections, and risk mitigation.
You can find the timestamps and videos in this playlist or in the thread shared by Paul on X.
Very insightful content, we highly recommend giving it your attention.
On October 12, the ZCG announced a new update to the Zcash plugin for BTCPayServer, which now supports Orchard / Unified Addresses, the most advanced shielded pool..
This integration allows merchants to receive fully private ZEC payments directly within BTCPayServer’s architecture.
Key Improvements Include:
Unified Address (UA) support — seamless transition for existing users by updating the viewing key.
New configuration setup — automatic creation of updated wallet and config files (zec-wallet.db, config2.json).
Enhanced rate handling — non-USD custom rates now supported, with added entries for ZEC-EUR and improved ZEC-BTC conversions.
For new users, setup guides are available via the official BTCPayServer documentation and ZecHub’s step-by-step tutorial.
Merchants and developers are encouraged to test the update, share feedback, and join the conversation on the Zcash Community Forum.
Outreach: Tier 1 & 2 outreach for NU 6.1 completed; awaiting confirmations from exchanges, pools, and API providers.
Zebra: Released v3.0.0 RC, cutting full sync time from days to hours, big win for node operators.
Zaino / Zallet: Chain index refactor wrapping up; Zallet full-node wallet Alpha live. Work resumes next week with cookie-auth coming soon.
Block Explorer: In final testing phase — launch coming soon.
This week, Josh warned against reducing human identity to a number and cautioned that state-controlled digital IDs threaten individual freedom. Speaking after the DC Privacy Summit, he praised the John Hancock Project for protecting human liberty and reaffirmed that money must remain private and independent of identification, a principle at the core of Zcash’s mission.
🔎 Diving into ECC updates
Zashi
Released: Zashi 2.4.3 with bug fixes and UX/UI updates.
In Progress: Zashi 2.4.4 adds more fixes and improvements; new support system live.
Collaboration: Worked with NEAR team on Swap/CrossPay issues.
Next Steps: Release 2.4.4, add ephemeral transparent addresses for NEAR Intents, and finalize designs for Ledger support, multi-account, and Duress/Decoy Wallet features.
Zashi | Adoption Numbers
IOS
Unique Installs: 17.5k (prev.14,6k)
Total Downloads: 20.4k (prev. 17,1k)
AppStore Rating: 4.9* ★
🤖 Android
Total Install Base: 5.67k (prev. 5,67k )
Total Installs (incl. Open Beta): (prev.25,5k)
Playstore Rating: 4.347* ★
🔄 Swap Analytics
Swap volume (to date): 228k ZEC
Avg volume per day (to date): 7k ZEC
Zcash Core 🦓
Progress: Transparent address rotation in progress (librustzcash#1939); Zashi bug fixes aligned with mempool changes; NU6.1 specs merged (zips#1099).
New Draft: Quantum recoverability ZIP completed and ready for review (zips#1104, #962), adding Mermaid diagram support.
Next: Merge P2SH multisig, review Qedit Orchard PR, finish transparent address rotation, enable account deletion (librustzcash#1633), advance Zallet Beta and zcashd deprecation, and draft key rotation ZIP for NU7 including FROST multisig updates.
Other 🌐
ECC Update
Events: Hosted the DC Privacy Summit, Roundtable, and Dinner — with photos and livestream available.
Operations: Filed Bootstrap/ECC tax returns.
Growth: Held meetings exploring opportunities to expand Zashi and Zcash reach.
Coming Soon: Finalizing and publishing the Q4 ECC roadmap.