Zcash unveils Zakura node with faster sync and Ironwood support

Project Tachyon and Valar Group released the open-source Zcash full node client, built on the Zcash Foundation’s Zebra, with faster mainnet sync, native pruning, snapshots and compatibility for existing infrastructure ahead of Ironwood.

ZEC

Summary

Zcash has officially released Zakura, a new open-source full node client developed by Project Tachyon and Valar Group and built on the Zcash Foundation’s Zebra. The software supports the upcoming Ironwood (NU6.3) network upgrade, set to activate around July 28, and is positioned as a base for future Zcash protocol upgrades including quantum recoverability and recursive proofs. In benchmark figures cited for the release, Zakura synchronized with Zcash mainnet in about 4 hours 20 minutes versus 20 hours 46 minutes for Zebra, pointing to materially faster node deployment. The client also adds native block pruning, node snapshots and a zcashd compatibility mode designed to ease migration for existing wallets, exchanges and other infrastructure.

Terms & Concepts
  • Zcash full node client: Software that fully validates Zcash transactions and blocks on the Zcash network.
  • Ironwood (NU6.3): A scheduled Zcash network upgrade version set to activate around July 28.
  • block pruning: A feature that reduces storage needs by removing older block data a node no longer needs to keep in full.