Zcash has conducted a series of security tests using Anthropic’s Mythos program, which, according to founder Zooko Wilcox, found no additional vulnerabilities in the protocol after the recent disclosure of the Orchard flaws.
Summary
- Anthropic Mythos testing did not find any additional vulnerabilities in the Zcash protocol following Orchard’s recent bug disclosure.
- The update followed an emergency update that fixed a vulnerability that may have allowed unlimited creation of fake ZEC.
- ZEC has retreated to $417 after a strong comeback, while technical indicators suggest resistance remains near $465.
According to Wilcox, Anthropic conducted research at the request of Shielded Labs following the discovery of a vulnerability that would have allowed unlimited creation of counterfeit ZEC.
In a June 13 post on X, Wilcox thanked Anthropic for helping to protect Zcash users and said the review did not find any more serious bugs in the network.
The result comes a little over a week after the Zcash ecosystem rushed to contain a bug in Orchard, the main secure blockchain pool.
According to Shielded Labs, this flaw may have enabled an attacker to create an unlimited amount of fake ZEC. The agency said previous exploits appeared unlikely, while admitting there was no cryptographic evidence showing the vulnerability had not been exploited.
Work to fix this issue began before the bug became public. According to Zcash Open Development Lab founder Josh Swihart, developers first implemented a soft fork that temporarily disabled Orchard sales while the technical details remained confidential.
The second upgrade, the NU6.2 hard fork, went live on June 3 and removed the vulnerability before Orchard transactions were re-enabled.
Emergency measures contained Orchard’s fault
Information previously released by Wilcox indicated the vulnerability was originally identified on May 29 by security researcher Taylor Hornby during targeted research using Anthropic’s Opus 4.8 model. Hornby reported the issue to the Zcash Open Development Lab, which coordinated feedback from all ecosystem participants before a fix was implemented.
After the fix, Wilcox said teams across the Zcash ecosystem continue to review the protocol for additional risks. According to his June 13 update, Shielded Labs and other contributors are now focusing on ways to strengthen security and plan to release additional updates as that work continues.
Many organizations are still involved in the effort, including the Zcash Foundation, Tachyon Group, Valar Group, Shielded Labs, and Zcash Open Development Lab, according to Wilcox.
Ironwood’s proposal focuses on ensuring supply
In line with the audit results, Wilcox continued to promote the proposed Ironwood upgrade, which he said would allow users to independently verify the circulating supply of Zcash by aggregating the balances held across all active pools once the upgrade is activated.
According to Wilcox, Ironwood will introduce a new secure ZEC holding facility, restrict transactions that may include counterfeit coins, and incorporate additional security measures, including AI-assisted auditing. He said the timeline for implementation is still uncertain and will depend on development work and public consultation.
The Orchard disclosure triggered a massive sell-off in ZEC. The token lost more than 50% of its value between June 4 and June 5 before rebounding to $478.70 on June 9. ZEC has recovered to around $417 as investors reduce exposure to riskier assets amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran.
Technical indicators also show that the recovery after the crash is facing resistance. On the four-hour chart, ZEC pulled back below the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level at $418.60 after failing to hold gains near $478.70 earlier this week. The token also remains below the resistance of the Supertrend at around $465, which continues to try to rise.
Unless buyers regain the $465-$470 area, the chart points to a possible retest of support near $355, which marks the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level. Meanwhile, the MACD histogram has returned to negative territory after being briefly optimistic during a recovery rally, indicating that buying pressure has weakened since the June 9 peak.
