Arborist Call #114 | (11/13/2025) | Zcash Protocol Updates
Core Team Updates, Research & Implementation Updates, Open Announcements & Discussion.
The Zcash Arborist Calls are bi-weekly protocol development meetings focused on tracking upcoming protocol deployment logistics, consensus node implementation issues, and protocol research.
This summary focuses on the last call that took place on 11/13/2025
Core Zebra Progress:
The team reports steady advancement toward Zebra 3.0:
• Multiple RPC updates pushing closer to the zcashd deprecation milestone
• Quick fixes improving Dockerfile builds
A big shout out to the external contributors who pushed key PRs
Release & Network Readiness
The stable Zebra 3.0.0 release is scheduled within days, aligning with the planned NU6.1 activation the following week.
A critical step in strengthening the core stack
Privacy & Build Improvements!
New support for scanning transparent inputs/outputs directly from compact blocks reducing information-leaking queries to lightwallet servers
PR for this is already up
Deterministic builds for zallet now available thanks to community contributions
Wallet & Chain-Index Upgrade
Major progress on the wallet stack:
zallet updated to the new Zaino chain index, moving away from the old light-wallet-protocol backend
Ongoing backend refactor to unify functionality across storage layers
Enables stronger, full node style capabilities and more flexible future wallet backends
Zallet Ecosystem Progress:
The chain index integration work continues, strengthening support for both zallet and lightwalletd. Several exchanges are already testing zallet and providing early feedback.
A new Zallet Contributor Board is now live, offering a prioritized list of tasks for anyone in the community who wants to contribute.
Developer Action Required:
The Contributor Board highlights key “Ready” items especially Implementing Wallet-In-Place as top priorities for wallet improvements.
All Zcash wallet developers (transparent & shielded) must update their application consensus branch ID before NU6.1 activation on Nov 23 to avoid service disruptions.
ZSA Engineering Progress
Significant work completed across the stack:
Halo2, Sinsemilla & note encryption updates merged
Orchard ZSA changes now in review
Updates required for Sapling-crypto, librustzcash & major consensus logic inside Zebra
A public ZSA testnet is live, with tools available for creating and testing V6 transactions.
Test Vectors, TXv6 & NSM Integration
Test Vectors repo updated for Orchard ZSA + TXv6
New Docker-packaged TX Tool allows generating V6 transactions for testing
NSM fields, ZIP 233 burn-amount logic & sighash_version byte now integrated into the ZSA branches
Fees, Issuance Logic & Wallet Impact
ZSA introduces new fee rules for first-time asset issuance (ZIP 317)
Fee computation now needs global-chain state to determine whether issuance is “first” or “subsequent”
Any wallet supporting ZSA must track issuance history or assume worst-case fee
Discussion underway on simplifying this, but current implementation follows the ZIP.
Finalize, Supply Controls & Upcoming Work
ZSA testnet now supports issue / transfer / burn / finalize
Finalize permanently locks supply, ideal for NFTs and capped-supply assets
Zebra integration is the next major focus to ensure full consensus correctness
Issuance & global supply remain public by design transfers remain private.
ZIP & Test Vector Progress
Work continues on the protocol upgrade pipeline:
ZIP 234 & ZIP 235 are being rebased and updated, expected to be ready by month end
Zcash Test Vectors PR #101 is now complete and ready for merge
These updates strengthen upcoming consensus upgrades across the ecosystem.
NSM Project Transition
The external team contributing to NSM will roll off at the end of November.
From then on, Shielded Labs will handle all remaining NSM work internally including rebasing, reviews, and merging ZIPs 234 & 235 into Zebra ensuring streamlined coordination.
New Engineers Joining the Ecosystem
Two new contributors have joined ongoing efforts:
Jude joining as DevRel engineer, supporting NSM, ecosystem partners & Crosslink, and also running a voting-authority node.
Philip contributor to Tenderlink (zcash version of tendermint) and now building a wallet interface for staking actions, to be showcased at the early December Crosslink workshop.
Crosslink Prototype Progress
Work continues toward a fully-functional prototype targeted for Q1 next year.
Collaboration underway with Zingo Labs on an iOS demo.
Goal: deliver two example wallets to showcase full user experience (not production-ready yet)
Milestone 4B & December 3 Workshop
The next workshop will connect staking-weight to actual test zcash (ztas), progressing beyond last workshop’s placeholder weights.
Updates include:
New transaction version with a staking action field.
Demo now processes staking actions.
ZIP-317 temporarily disabled for rapid iteration.
Next Steps Toward Full Staking Flow
To complete the milestone:
Integrate real stake-weight tied to consensus-tracked assets
Ensure balances reflect staking flows
Build a wallet that can spend Orchard notes, stake, and unstake
A draft PR will also be opened in the ZIPs repo to gather early feedback on the evolving design.
Interest is growing around bridging Bitcoin to Zcash a use case that would rely on ZSAs. Anyone exploring this direction is encouraged to reach out to QEDIT for collaboration and technical discussions.
This wraps up the Nov 13 Arborist Call.
Major progress across Zebra, wallets, ZSA, NSM, and the Crosslink prototype
New engineers joining, workshops upcoming, and growing interest in ZSA-powered integrations.
Momentum across the Zcash ecosystem continues to accelerate.
