THORChain formally activated a liquidity pool for Zcash (ZEC) on October 2, 2026, following a network-wide node churn. All validator nodes are now monitoring the Zcash blockchain, creating what the protocol called a “truly permissionless venue” for ZEC. Native ZEC swaps have not yet been enabled, and no specific date was provided for trading activation.
The project warned that early pool liquidity remains shallow and advised users to trade with caution once swaps go live. Thin initial depth could lead to significant slippage on larger trades, and THORChain did not disclose total value locked figures for the pool’s opening hours.
The launch follows months of technical work. THORChain’s v3.16.0 upgrade introduced Zcash-specific UTXO handling and remote procedure call logic, while the protocol’s enshrined oracle began incorporating native ZEC price data. Development in September focused on transaction-expiry consistency, signing coordination, and retry handling across nodes.
Community questions remain over whether shielded ZEC transactions will be supported. THORChain has not clarified immediate support for zero-knowledge shielded addresses. The integration also coincides with broader Zcash ecosystem work by Shielded Labs on post-quantum security, Project Tachyon, and the NU6.3 network upgrade.
