Zcash developers have patched a critical flaw in the Orchard shielded pool that a security researcher showed could forge an unlimited supply of counterfeit ZEC. The token fell more than 40% as the disclosure came to light.
Key Takeaways:
Researcher Taylor Hornby found an Orchard flaw on May 29 that could mint unlimited counterfeit ZEC.ZEC dropped more than 40% over the past 24 hours as holders weighed whether fake coins had entered the shielded pool.Zcash developers patched the bug and proposed supply-verification upgrades to rebuild trust.Hornby did not stop at theory and with the help of an artificial intelligence model, he devised a complete exploit and generated an unlimited number of counterfeit ZEC in local testing. The disclosure sent ZEC down 40% in a single day as developers subsequently revealed that the flaw had been present since the Orchard pool launched in May 2022 (sitting undetected for roughly four years and surviving repeated audits by specialists who never spotted it).
Despite the severity, developers urged calm with Shielded Labs saying it was not “overly concerned” that counterfeiting had actually occurred, reasoning that the bug had survived years of review by some of the world’s most capable cryptographers without being found or exploited.
What the Bug Means for ZEC HoldersThe test for Zcash now is whether its planned supply-verification upgrades can turn a frightening near miss into a credibility win rather than a lasting stain.
Whether the Orchard episode becomes a footnote or a turning point will hinge on what developers ship next and on whether the market treats a patched, apparently unexploited bug as a warning shot or a reason to walk away.
