ZEC Surges 41.5% Following Critical Network Vulnerability

ZEC surges 41.5% after critical network vulnerability fix.

Josh Swihart, founder of Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL), announced the resolution of a critical vulnerability in the Orchard shielded pool. Following this, the asset’s prices began to recover from a significant decline.

https://t.co/9gaPMvTc9G

— Josh Swihart 🛡 (@jswihart) June 7, 2026

According to Swihart, the fix was implemented in two phases. Initially, the team conducted a soft fork to temporarily disable transactions in Orchard. This reduced the risk of bug exploitation without prematurely disclosing technical details.

The second phase was the NU6.2 hard fork, activated on June 3. After the update, the pool’s functionality was fully restored.

The critical flaw in the Proof-of-Concept scheme of Orchard was discovered by independent researcher Taylor Hornby during an audit for Shielded Labs. The bug theoretically allowed for unlimited fake issuance of ZEC. However, Shielded Labs stated that actual exploitation of the vulnerability was unlikely.

Following the disclosure on June 4, the price of the privacy coin plummeted by more than 50%. The incident sparked criticism from community members. Notably, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes announced the complete liquidation of his position in the token.

In addressing the aftermath, ZODL coordinated with mining pools ViaBTC and Foundry, as well as exchanges, to conduct code reviews of the fixes.

“We not only solved the problem but also practically tested incident response processes, strengthening the network’s resilience,” Swihart emphasized.

At the time of writing, ZEC is trading at $429.08. Over the past day, the privacy coin has gained 13.5%, recovering 41.5% from the lows of June 5.

Concurrently, ZODL, in collaboration with the Zcash Foundation and Shielded Labs, presented a proposal for network upgrades and the creation of a new pool, Ironwood. It is expected to be based on Orchard but will undergo additional independent audits and formal verification.

In May, the price of the privacy coin broke the $585 mark for the first time since November 2025.