Arborist Call | Zcash Protocol Updates (03/05/2026)
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 03/05/2026.
NU7 Poll Results | General Discussion
The call began with a discussion on how to interpret the results of the NU7 sentiment poll. While many proposals received broad support, a few areas lacked full agreement. The ecosystem now needs to determine which features should realistically move forward as part of the NU7 upgrade.
A proposal gaining agreement is to merge ZSA into the Zcash codebase behind a feature flag. This approach allows the work to remain maintained in the codebase without enabling it on mainnet until the community reaches stronger consensus.
Rather than activating ZSA immediately on mainnet, developers discussed enabling experimentation through a dedicated testnet environment. This would allow developers and users to test the functionality and interfaces without impacting the main Zcash network.
Transition Considerations:
Before deprecating zcashd, the ecosystem must ensure the new node stack fully supports all existing functionality. There will likely be a transition period where both implementations coexist so stability can be monitored.
NU7 Proposal Development:
ZIP editors and development teams are currently working on assembling a NU7 proposal. The goal is to present a minimal but coherent upgrade proposal to the community that can move the network forward while allowing room for future iteration
Several maintenance and reliability improvements:
Removal of the Python Q&A testing framework
Alignment of mempool transaction filters with zcashd (external contribution)
Fixes for transaction verification involving both chain and mempool inputs
Fixes to peer connection metrics
Simplification of the Read State Service implementation.
Zallet Development Progress:
Work on the Zallet CLI wallet is progressing on two fronts.
Developers are implementing shielded coinbase support through the backend stack, while also addressing earlier issues related to proper coinbase maturity handling in the backend infrastructure.
The team has also created a new Zcash integration testing repository. This testing stack pulls together Zebra, Zaino, and Zallet, allowing developers to run historic zcashd RPC tests against the new infrastructure an important step toward validating functionality as the ecosystem transitions away from zcashd.
Hazel reported that Zaino is approaching a stable release, currently on its fourth release candidate, which is expected to be the final one. No additional code changes are anticipated the focus now is completing the release process so the software can be widely tested.
The Subtree Roots API will not be included in the upcoming release because it remains untested.
Instead, it is expected to be introduced in a follow-up minor release, allowing developers to experiment with it while the main Zaino release moves forward.
Zcashd Deprecation Work (Zallet & Z3 Stack):
Work continues toward the eventual zcashd deprecation, with current efforts focused on preparing the next alpha release of Zallet and the Z3 stack. The team is also organizing the Zallet contributor board to prioritize new community issues and keep contributions flowing.
Updates were made to the Zcash Shielded Assets ZIP specifications, including restoring the Enable ZSA flag in the Orchard spec and adjusting the asset burn value field from u64 to u63 to reduce the risk of overflow.
Development continues on Orchard integration, with ongoing reviews of the upstream PR and related updates in librustzcash. Test vectors have also been updated, including support for ZIP-233 amount fields behind a feature flag.
Work is also progressing on Zebra integration, particularly around state management for issued assets. Meanwhile, the ZSA testnet remains operational, alongside improvements to developer tooling such as transaction generation and blockchain caching.
Progress on the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM) implementation.
The original PR combining ZIP-234 and ZIP-235 has now been split into two separate PRs, allowing greater flexibility in how the proposal is implemented.
Fee Burning vs Issuance Smoothing
This change allows progress on ZIP-233 and ZIP-235, which enable burning ZEC from circulation and burning ~60% of transaction fees, while potentially deferring ZIP-234 as discussions continue around issuance smoothing and the appropriate disbursement mechanism.
The Crosslink trailing finality layer prototype phase will conclude at the end of the month.
Following this, the team plans to launch the first seasonal incentivized testnet, allowing the community to help test the system while contributing to infrastructure that benefits the Zcash mainnet.
Community Incentives & Testnet Tooling
Participation incentives will focus on activities that support the ecosystem, such as running infrastructure like DNS seeders.
The team also developed an internal deployment tool that can spin up custom testnets using a unified codebase including Zebra, Zaino, and librustzcash, enabling faster experimentation and feature testing.
Work is also underway on a new networking stack designed for faster block synchronization, which is required for Crosslink’s architecture.
This effort involves collaboration with the Zcash Foundation, Nym, and the Tachyon team, and includes experimentation, networking, and mixnet compatibility to improve network performance.
“Kusama-style” Test Network for Zcash
A proposal was floated to explore a Kusama-style experimental network for Zcash, where new features could be tested in a live environment with real economic incentives. Interested contributors were invited to join an informal working group to discuss the idea further.