Zcash proposes Ironwood pool; Kraken to offer SpaceX tokens

Zcash developers proposed a new shielded pool named Ironwood to add supply verification after a flaw was found in the Orchard protocol. The Zcash Open Development Lab announced Saturday it is working with Tachyon, Valar Group, the Zcash Foundation and Shielded Labs on a network upgrade that would introduce Ironwood. The plan would close the current Orchard pool to new deposits and internal transfers and require funds to pass through an accounting checkpoint called a “turnstile” before entering Ironwood.

Auditors at Shielded Labs warned the Orchard vulnerability “could have allowed attackers to create an infinite amount of counterfeit ZEC within Orchard without detection.” The Zcash Foundation reported the flaw on Wednesday and said auditors found no evidence that user funds were affected or that the total ZEC supply changed.

Under the proposal, existing Orchard balances would remain but the pool would be closed to new deposits and internal activity while the turnstile and verification processes are implemented. The upgrade would add formal verification and independent audits to Orchard to allow nodes and auditors to confirm that on-chain supply matches the protocol’s records.

Separately, Kraken announced that SpaceX will be the first company offered through its xStocks IPO Access program. Eligible users in more than 110 jurisdictions who receive an allocation in the offering will be issued SPCXx, a tokenized representation of SpaceX shares that Kraken says will be backed 1:1 by the underlying stock.

Kraken said SPCXx tokens will be tradable 24 hours a day on its platform and on other participating xStocks platforms. SpaceX is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq on June 12 with an estimated valuation of about $1.8 trillion.

Galaxy Digital lowered its odds that the Senate will pass a version of the CLARITY Act this year, citing the congressional calendar and an upcoming recess. Galaxy Digital’s head of research Alex Thorn wrote, “We are now lowering that estimate to 60%,” and said the Senate would need to schedule floor time in July for the bill to complete remaining steps before the recess.

Orchard is Zcash’s privacy layer that hides transaction details while allowing validation. Shielded pools like Orchard conceal senders, recipients and amounts to protect transaction privacy. Tokenized equities such as SPCXx represent ownership claims on traditional shares while using blockchain-based tokens to enable continuous trading.