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NU6.3, the Ironwood upgrade, is already active on Zcash mainnet. It activated on July 28, 2026, at block height 3,428,143. Whether your wallet can transact under the new rules depends on its software support—not just on whether it recognizes your address. Orchard holders should review their wallet’s migration instructions and privacy disclosures; former zcashd users need a different supported software path.
What is NU6.3, and what changed?
NU6.3, also called Ironwood, is Zcash’s latest settled mainnet upgrade as of October 4, 2026. The Zcash upgrade guide gives its activation as July 28, 2026, at block height 3,428,143. The Zcash ZIP index lists NU6.3 as the most recent settled mainnet upgrade; it lists NU7 as planned, not activated, as of that date.
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The central change is a new shielded value pool, Ironwood, and a new transaction format that can carry an Ironwood component. A pool is a distinct part of the protocol for shielded value; it is not itself a wallet or address. Under the new rules, Orchard is no longer an ordinary destination for new value. Funds leaving Orchard must pass through the turnstile into Ironwood, and Orchard operations face same-address restrictions. The Zcash NU6.3 guide describes Ironwood as a pool designed to strengthen security and make circulating-supply integrity independently verifiable.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThis changes which pool value can enter and how wallets handle it; it does not mean every older transaction format stopped working. ZIP 229 specifies that version 4, version 5, and version 6 transactions remain valid after NU6.3 activation, subject to the updated consensus rules.
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Will my wallet still work after the Zcash upgrade?
There is no universal yes or no: compatibility depends on the wallet app and the actions you need it to perform. For full support, an app may need to scan the new pool, display balances, receive Ironwood funds, construct transactions under the new rules, and offer any relevant migration flow. The official upgrade guide advises users to update Zcash apps and software.
Check the release notes or support documentation for your particular wallet before sending funds. A working address format, by itself, does not show that the app can scan or manage the new pool. ZIP 326 says a previously exposed Orchard-protocol receiver can receive Ironwood funds after activation, but that protocol-level compatibility does not prove that every wallet implements the necessary behavior.
Do I need a new address?
NU6.3 does not change the Orchard-protocol address structure. According to ZIP 326 and ZIP 229, a receiver exposed before the upgrade can be used for Ironwood funds after activation, subject to support in both the sending and receiving software. Do not treat address compatibility as proof that your app can display or manage those funds: confirm the wallet’s current support before relying on it.
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What happens to Orchard funds?
Existing Orchard holdings can leave the pool for Ironwood, but a transfer across pools has a privacy consequence: the amount crossing the pool boundary is publicly revealed. ZIP 318’s wallet-specification guidance says a wallet should identify the Orchard-specific balance at risk, explain that disclosure, and obtain the user’s consent before funds leave Orchard. ZIP 318 and ZIP 326 identify themselves as drafts in the versions reviewed, so this guidance is not evidence that every wallet implements the same flow.
The wallet specification describes two broad migration approaches. Exact controls, timing, and background behavior depend on the wallet implementation.
| Approach | Timing | Privacy trade-off | User control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immediate transfer | Transfers Orchard value promptly. | The specification characterizes a single immediate transfer as having minimal privacy; pool-crossing amounts are public. | Review the wallet’s disclosure and proposed transfer, and give consent before funds leave Orchard. |
| Scheduled or background migration | Moves value over a schedule rather than all at once. | Designed to make transfers harder to correlate, but does not conceal the publicly revealed pool-crossing amounts. | Review the proposed schedule and confirm the wallet’s behavior; implementations can differ. |
Use your wallet’s own current migration instructions. The protocol guidance does not establish one schedule that is right for every holder or guarantee that every wallet offers both approaches.
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What does “quantum recoverable” mean?
It does not mean that a wallet provider can restore your account if you lose your keys. ZIP 2005 describes Ironwood-pool notes as recoverable under the protocol design it specifies, while Sapling- and Orchard-pool notes are not. That is a property of the protocol’s recovery design, not a promise of personal key recovery or guaranteed restoration of funds.
I run zcashd. What should I do?
The official zcashd deprecation guidance says that zcashd has reached end of life and does not support NU6.3. It points users to different paths depending on whether they need its wallet functionality:
- If you do not need the
zcashdwallet: the deprecation guidance directs you to Zebra for node use. - If you depend on the
zcashdwallet: it directs you to test migration ofwallet.datto Zallet.
Follow the current official documentation for the relevant software and safeguards. The existence of the migration path is not a guarantee that a particular wallet file will migrate successfully; do not treat these broad directions as file-specific migration steps.
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Are older transactions or nodes still compatible?
Transaction-format validity and node support are separate questions. ZIP 229 says versions 4, 5, and 6 remain valid under NU6.3, but all must satisfy the new consensus rules. A node must also implement the rules for the network state it is following. The deployment guidance in ZIP 258 distinguishes pre-activation compatibility from post-activation behavior; validity of an older transaction format is not evidence that an old node will keep following the current network.
For current node operation, use official software guidance rather than inferring compatibility from transaction-version numbers. In particular, the official deprecation page says zcashd does not support NU6.3.
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