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Dash launches Orchard privacy pool on mainnet

Dash launches Orchard privacy pool on mainnet

Dash has activated its Orchard-based privacy system for private transfers on Evolution, replacing its older CoinJoin-style approach with zero-knowledge proofs while Zcash works through a separate Orchard security crisis.

ZEC
DASH

Fact Check
The official Dash Platform v4.0.0 GitHub release confirms the release introduces a Shielded Pool for private credit transfers 'based on a fork of the Orchard protocol' with production mainnet address parameters (dash1z Bech32m). The official Dash blog corroborates the Orchard-based shielded pool and explicitly says Dash's instant finality delivers privacy 'in seconds.' The ~one-second confirmation positioning matches Dash's established InstantSend technology, as reflected in the coincu report. All key elements of the claim—v4.0.0, Orchard-based shielded pool, mainnet production, private credit transfers, and roughly one-second confirmations—are supported by primary sources.
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Summary

Dash has activated its Orchard-based privacy system on mainnet, allowing users to send DASH without publicly revealing the sender, receiver or amount. The launch shifts Dash’s privacy model beyond its older PrivateSend system, which used CoinJoin-style transaction mixing, by adopting zero-knowledge proof technology derived from Zcash’s Orchard protocol. Dash said the new pools are live on its Evolution chain and can confirm transactions in about one second while syncing a wallet in roughly 20 seconds. Samuel Westrich, chief technology officer of Dash Core Group, said the Orchard code was open source and mature, making it easier to integrate than expected. The first release covers standard DASH transfers, with privacy support for stablecoins and other digital assets planned later. The rollout comes as Zcash, which developed Orchard, deals with a major security issue. A flaw found on May 29, 2026 in Zcash’s Orchard circuit could have allowed counterfeit ZEC to be created undetected, though Zcash developers said they found no evidence of exploitation and pushed an emergency fix within days. A broader upgrade called Ironwood is scheduled for July 28 at block height 3,428,143 to add a turnstile accounting system aimed at capping supply and detecting any counterfeit coins. Dash said its own Orchard integration is separate from Zcash’s system, and the market reaction to the launch was limited, with DASH up 0.2% on the day and carrying a market cap of about $431 million.

Terms & Concepts
  • zero-knowledge proofs: A cryptographic method that lets a transaction be verified as valid without revealing key details such as sender, receiver or amount.
  • CoinJoin: A privacy technique that combines multiple users’ transactions to make payment trails harder to trace.
  • Orchard: A shielded transaction protocol first developed for Zcash that uses zero-knowledge proofs to keep transfer details private.