A Path Forward for Ledger and Zcash

Community Grants
146

Have there been any updates about this? I’m looking forward to shielded Zcash on my Ledger

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147

:face_in_clouds:

1 Like
148

surprise surprise…

149

From looking at the Ledger Live repository it still looks actively in development.

CleanShot 2026-04-11 at 20.30.35@2x
CleanShot 2026-04-11 at 20.30.35@2x2702×1060 361 KB

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150

And this is the app repo…

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151

A direct partner with Ledger sounds good, but I think the key thing here is accountability over optimism. We’ve already seen what happens with loosely owned integrations. If Ledger is stepping in directly, there needs to be a clear scope. What exactly gets delivered, the shielded support timeline, maintenance guarantees and who owns failures when things break again.

Also worth saying shielded support isn’t optional long-term. Supporting ZEC but effectively forcing transparent usage defeats the whole point. If this is done right, it’s a huge unlock, especially for institutional confidence, but it needs to be treated like core infrastructure instead of another integration.

153

Cross posting this update from Ledger.

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154

Hi everyone,

I’m Abhi, part of Ledger’s Coin & Blockchain Integration team. I’m taking over external communication for this integration from Victor (@vf-ledger), who recently left Ledger.

Current integration status:

Zcash Device App

  • Implementation of UFVK sharing and Orchard Unified Address generation in the device app is complete. The OS release (including ZIP-32 support) has been rolled out to 50% on April 22nd, after which we will conduct final testing and proceed with the 100% release.
  • We have initiated work on Orchard transactions and Clear-sign, including Orchard-to-Orchard (private send), Orchard-to-transparent, and transparent-to-Orchard. A significant portion of the work remains, and completion is currently targeted for mid-May, subject to progress.

Ledger Wallet (Desktop)

  • The synchronization process is complete, and the next phase is dedicated to intensive performance and UI testing. At this point, we are able to sync and decrypt the full Zaino node (since Orchard birth) in under 65 minutes as a benchmark. Actual performance will vary depending on the user’s hardware.
  • Transaction crafting for the different flows (Public, Private, Public → Private, Private → Public) is currently being worked on.

Full scope release

We’ll share an updated launch ETA in our May update. We are targeting end of July for the release of the full scope.

For anyone who would rather follow real-time progress than wait for monthly summaries, active development is visible in public LedgerHQ repositories:

Next update by end of May 2026.

Note:

The existing transparent Zcash app on Nano S will not receive further updates. Nano S has been deprecated for some time, and per Ledger’s policy we no longer publish app updates for it outside of exceptional cases such as security fixes. Reference: https://support.ledger.com/article/Ledger-Nano-S-Limitations

For users with ZEC on a Nano S, the path is migration to a supported device (Nano S+, Nano X, Flex, Stax, Nano Gen5).

Abhi,
Product | Coin & Blockchain Integration | Ledger

11 Likes
155

If you don’t intend to support the Nano S, you should remove the app from your store. Since Nu6.1, it stopped working.

5 Likes
156

Hi everyone,

I’m an early Zcash adopter with a real-world case that I hope can be considered in the scope of the new Ledger integration grant.

My situation:

  • Device: Original Ledger Nano S (functional, PIN known)

  • Amount: 100 ZEC (~€40,000)

  • Address: t1ZsfDa4kpk8aYjffUgv149suF2i54hLH4P

  • Transaction date: May 25, 2018 — one month BEFORE Overwinter activation

  • Problem: Pre-Overwinter UTXOs (v1 transaction format)

  • Critical issue: Recovery phrase lost

What I’ve tried:

  1. Ledger Live + Zcash app → bad-tx-consensus-branch-id-mismatch

  2. Zondax ZecWallet + Zcash Shielded → doesn’t find pre-Overwinter UTXOs

  3. Contacted Zondax → confirmed no solution for v1 format

  4. Contacted Ledger support → confirmed Zkool solution requires Nano S Plus (Zcash Shielded on original Nano S doesn’t support NU6)

The problem:

Ledger’s official guide for recovering old UTXOs (v1, v2, v3) via Zkool + Zcash Shielded app only works on Nano S Plus, Flex, and Stax. The original Nano S has an outdated Zcash Shielded version that doesn’t support NU6.

Without my seed phrase, I cannot migrate to a newer device. The private key is locked inside the Secure Element.

My question to ZCG:

Will the new Ledger Zcash grant ($300k) include support for spending pre-Overwinter transparent UTXOs?

Early adopters who bought ZEC in 2016-2018 are affected. The amounts can be significant. Without seed phrase recovery, these funds are permanently locked unless Ledger adds support for v1 transactions on original Nano S — or provides another technical solution.

I am willing to fund development up to €40,000 if a solution is technically feasible.

I’ve also opened a GitHub issue with ZKool developer: https://github.com/hhanh00/zkool2/issues/972

Thank you for your attention.

Andrey

1 Like
157

Ledger dropped support for Nano S. The new app will not support it.

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158

i wonder how many others there might be with similar problem in future that dont know this is an issue. :grimacing:

159

True, but I cannot stress more how important it is too backup the seed phrase. Devices break, lost, obsolete, etc. The seed phrase is the only thing that lasts “forever”.

4 Likes
160

Recovered 101 ZEC from an original Ledger Nano S after 8 years (PIN known, seed lost, UTXOs from 2018 — pre-Overwinter). zkool/Ywallet showed the balance, but signing failed with
InvalidExternalSignature: in Zondax/ledger-zcash (app/src/refactor/sighash.c) CONSENSUS_BRANCH_ID_NU6 is hardcoded into the outer personalization, while header_digest uses the current bid
from the PCZT — that asymmetry breaks host-side verify after each network upgrade. Fix: edit the constant to the current network branch_id (0x4DEC4DF0), make buildS && make loadS with
ledgerblue, sideload to Nano S — zkool then signs cleanly. Proper fix is reading the bid dynamically from the buffer instead of hardcoding it; until that lands, the app has to be rebuilt
at every NU. Credit to Claude (Anthropic) for the diagnosis: it spotted the hardcoded outer personalization in the source and proved it in Python by ECDSA-verifying the signatures against
reconstructed sighash variants — exact hit.

13 Likes
161

@abhi-ledger date ⟩⟩⟩ (May 2026)

162

Zcash Community Forum - June 2026 Monthly Update

Hi everyone,

Monthly update from the Ledger integration team. This is a longer one - we have three things to cover: general progress, an account of the emergency soft-fork response, and a note on the upcoming Ironwood upgrade.

1. Integration progress

Zcash Device App (Rust)

  • Implementation of UFVK sharing and Orchard Unified Address generation in the device app has been rolled out 100%.
  • Work is ongoing for Orchard transactions and ClearSign, including Orchard-to-Orchard (private send), Orchard-to-transparent, and transparent-to-Orchard transfers. The implementation has proven more complex than initially anticipated. We are currently targeting completion of the core transaction logic by end of June, with the UI layer planned for July.

Ledger Wallet (Desktop)

  • The shielded synchronization process is complete and thoroughly tested. As a benchmark, we can scan the full Orchard history from the birthday block in under 65 minutes.
  • The private send and receive flows have been architected across three layers (ZCash library, Coin Module, UI). The ZCash library is targeting end of June; the Ledger Wallet Desktop integration is planned for July.
  • Most major issues identified during QA are being resolved.*

2. NU6.2 soft-fork response - what we did and where things stand

On the evening of June 1 (UTC), the Zcash network maintainers notified us of a critical vulnerability in zcashd and zebrad requiring an immediate coordinated soft-fork (NU6.2) with a narrow window. This section is an honest account of our response.

What the upgrade required from Ledger:

The NU6.2 soft-fork introduced a new consensus Branch ID. Every piece of software at Ledger that constructs or validates Zcash transactions needed to be updated with this new ID - that spans our backend node, both Zcash device apps, and the Ledger Wallet application layer.

What we shipped:

Component Action Taken Status
Zcash node (zcashd) Emergency rebuild and deployment overnight Released June 2
Ledger Wallet Desktop (LWD 4.6.1) Branch ID hotfix to unblock users managing ZEC Released June 3
Ledger Wallet Mobile (LWM 4.7) Branch ID update Released June 9
Zcash Rust app v3.0.1 (transparent) Branch ID fix, updated on My Ledger Released June 15

What is still being worked on:

  1. The Zaino indexer (our internal Zcash light-client node) is currently not operational on our infrastructure following the Branch ID change. This does not impact users — shielded transaction sync is behind a feature toggle that is switched off in production. We are working on restoring the indexer and will update once resolved.
  2. The legacy Zondax shielded app also required a Branch ID update. During QA testing we identified stability issues that are being investigated. We will communicate separately when this update is confirmed deployed.
  3. Transparent send today: With the above fixes in place, transparent ZEC transactions and swaps work normally through Ledger Wallet

3. Ironwood / NU7 - what we know and what it means for us

The Zcash ecosystem (ZODL, Tachyon, Valar Group, Zcash Foundation, Shielded Labs) has announced Ironwood, a new shielded pool targeting activation in late July 2026. Ironwood reuses the existing Orchard cryptographic primitives with formal verification and re-audit, and introduces a turnstile that allows anyone to audit the circulating supply. The ZODL team has advised us to target Ironwood directly rather than deploying a standalone Orchard integration.

Our current position:

  • The in-flight Orchard shielded-send work (~80%) carries over to Ironwood - the cryptographic primitives (Pallas/Halo2/RedPallas), sync, witness computation, key derivation, and coin selection are pool-agnostic. We are refactoring the remaining work to be Ironwood-aware rather than abandoning it.
  • The specification is materializing: ZIP 2005 (Orchard Quantum Recoverability) is published, the Ironwood spec and circuit are in active development, and the transaction format has been decided as V6 (V5 with an appended Ironwood bundle). However, the final consensus parameters - branch ID and activation height - are not yet finalized upstream, and the deployment ZIP is still in progress. We cannot commit to a precise delivery date until those parameters are frozen.
  • Late July 2026 is an ecosystem activation target, not a Ledger delivery date. We will need additional time after spec freeze to implement, test, and audit.

We want to be transparent with the community: active development continues and the work completed to date carries forward into the Ironwood path. However, the combination of the NU6.2 emergency response and the Ironwood scope change means the original delivery timeline needs to be reassessed. We are not yet in a position to commit to a revised date - that depends on the ZODL team finalising the Ironwood consensus parameters and deployment ZIP, which are still in progress. Once that information is available, we will have a full picture of what remains and when we can deliver. Expect a concrete revised timeline in our next monthly update.

Thanks for your patience on the communication cadence. We will continue posting monthly updates as things develop.

– Abhi
Product Consultant, Coin & Blockchain Integration, Ledger

11 Likes
163

I think strong Ledger support is important for Zcash adoption, especially for users and institutions that already rely on hardware wallets for self-custody.

At the same time, I agree that fixing existing issues should come before discussing new features. Restoring trust is the first step.

If Ledger is willing to take direct ownership of Zcash support moving forward, that would be a meaningful change compared to the previous model.

1 Like
164

Thank for the detailed update! Would be awesome to have a dedicated Zcash resource for these tasks and anything else Zcash + ledger integration related. Zcash being a top 15 crypto deserves that, and more.

I realize we’re waiting for tachyon, but this update has been a 9 months in the making. Lots of holders who can’t participate in the shielded economy, or with stuck coins, like myself. Shot you a DM on LinkedIn!

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166

Hi @Jiggytom,

I appreciate the passion for Zcash - and I genuinely understand the frustration. That’s real, and it matters to us.

A few things worth clarifying:

On complexity. Zcash is one of the most cryptographically complex protocols in the space, zero-knowledge proofs, the Orchard shielded pool, the PCZT signing protocol, ZIP-32 key derivation. Adding a hardware layer (Ledger device) on top of that means everything needs to be implemented within strict memory constraints, then independently security-audited before it can ship. This isn’t a web app. A single mistake here puts users’ funds at risk - which is the opposite of what we’re trying to do.

On the team and the grant. The grant funds the integration work itself - it covers engineering time dedicated to Zcash. It is not money paid on top of existing salaries. And yes, Zcash is a top priority, but Ledger supports 100+ blockchains and the same engineers working on Zcash also respond to emergencies across the portfolio - including the NU6.2 soft-fork we handled within hours of being notified.

On progress. Everything is open source and publicly visible. You can track every PR, every commit, every decision in real time:

On timing. Earlier we were targetting July end. But due to upcoming ecosystem changes - the Ironwood upgrade announced by ZODL, Tachyon, Valar Group and the Zcash Foundation means we are now pivoting to support Ironwood directly rather than shipping Orchard and immediately having to redo it. That’s the right call for users long-term, but it adds scope. We’re waiting on final specs from the ZODL team before we can commit to a revised delivery date.

I took over as PM on this project recently and I’m committed to keeping communication transparent and regular. We will post an update next month with a clearer timeline once the upstream specifications are finalized.

Regarding the LinkedIn screenshot: I’d ask that we keep this thread focused on the technical discussion rather than personal messages. Happy to continue the conversation here or via direct message.

– Abhi, Product, Coin & Blockchain Integration, Ledger

4 Likes