Dash Brings Zcash Orchard Privacy to Evolution Chain for Shielded Transactions

Dash, the decentralized payment network that has supported protocol-level privacy since launching in 2014, announced it will integrate Zcash's Orchard shielded pool into its Evolution chain, the application platform it launched in July 2024. The integration brings zero-knowledge cryptography, the same technology that eliminated the need for a trusted setup in Zcash, to Dash's payment and token infrastructure, with deployment expected next month pending security audits. Orchard is the third and most advanced generation of Zcash's shielded pool technology, currently securing 4.2 million ZEC (25.4% of Zcash's circulating supply) and underpinning a privacy coin sector that outperformed the broader crypto market in 2025. The collaboration between two of crypto's longest-running privacy projects signals a shift toward shared cryptographic infrastructure at a time when privacy-preserving technology is increasingly viewed as foundational to blockchain adoption, with Gartner forecasting that 50