# OrchardZSA Finalization **URL:** \ **Category:** Applications\ **Created:** [December 8, 2025, 2:11pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/orchardzsa-finalization/53732 "2025-12-08T14:11:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vivek](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/vivek/32/19682_2.png) [@vivek](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/vivek)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 2:11pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/orchardzsa-finalization/53732/1 "2025-12-08T14:11:53Z")
Hello Zcash community! We have been steadily making progress on the integration of ZSAs into NU7, including working with the other teams involved to integrate subsequent additions to the NU7 features. As can be seen in our regular updates, we have a feature complete version of ZSAs available with a testnet, and we have completed the OrchardZSA protocol changes. The review of the `orchard` crate is [currently in progress](https://github.com/zcash/orchard/pull/471). As the reviews take place, we expect to continue with critical core protocol updates to discuss and finalize the review suggestions. This will start with the `orchard` repository, and changes will propagate upwards into `librustzcash` and `zebra`, and so on as each repository gets reviewed. We have also prepared the reference test vectors for the ZSA changes. A [review](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/108) of this is in progress as well. We will be integrating them with the other NU7 changes so as not to have a divergence between the reference vector implementations. We are expecting this work to occur in Q1 2026. We will need a smaller team than before since we are expecting more review based changes than fresh development work. We are sharing here a link to our [grant proposal on GitHub](https://github.com/ZcashCommunityGrants/zcashcommunitygrants/issues/154). As always, we’re looking forward to see our development work bring value to this community! Best, The QEDIT Team. ---
**Author:** ![kworks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c67d28/32.png) [@kworks](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/kworks)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 8:03am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/orchardzsa-finalization/53732/2 "2025-12-12T08:03:16Z")
Hi @vivek, > [@Kralux for ZCG (December 2025)](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/kralux-for-zcg-december-2025/53532/6): > > The Zcash Community has invested a lot of resources into Zcash Shielded Asset development. In 2026, it appears this innovation will finally become available to the market. Building a software application is great but it only adds value if it is servicing some sort of niche in the market. Your application includes a section for documentation development, great! However, what I am challenged with is how is the Qedit team going to get developers to build and create ZSA? Can you help expand what your team will do in 2026 to identify who are your users? How are you going to expand the usage of Zcash Shielded Assets? Thank you ---
**Author:** ![readymouse](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/readymouse/32/39041_2.png) [@readymouse](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/readymouse)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 1:45pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/orchardzsa-finalization/53732/3 "2025-12-13T13:45:21Z")
It seems like this is the last step towards having ZSAs launched in such a way that the community can start to play with them and take steps toward launching their own ZSAs. Is that correct? As many other ZSA dev projects have been funded, I want to see the protocol launched such that we can start to see community engagement and creation. I’m curious to see what sorts of tokens are created. ---
**Author:** ![vivek](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/vivek/32/19682_2.png) [@vivek](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/vivek)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 10:24am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/orchardzsa-finalization/53732/4 "2025-12-18T10:24:13Z")
Hi kworks and readymouse, We have created a feature complete single-node testnet that is up and running, and are actively maintaining it. This has been available for the community to experiment with for [some time now](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/grant-update-zcash-shielded-assets-monthly-updates/41153/89). We also ran a demo of the feature complete version in the [November 13 Arborist Call](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksuYg_kmalE). We’d love to have everyone check it out! We have also been in contact with various parties who have expressed interest in using ZSAs to issue various tokens, we have demonstrated the testnet to them and how they can use that to get comfortable with the functionailty. ---
**Author:** ![ZCG](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/zcg/32/33712_2.png) [@ZCG](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/ZCG)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 2:00pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/orchardzsa-finalization/53732/5 "2025-12-22T14:00:27Z")
@vivek at the most recent meeting, ZCG voted to approve this proposal. Congratulations! To keep the community informed, ZCG requests that you provide monthly updates via the forum in this thread. Please check your forum inbox for a direct message from FPF with important next steps, including a link to the Milestone Payment Request Form and your unique validation code for submitting payment requests. ---
**Author:** ![vivek](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/vivek/32/19682_2.png) [@vivek](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/vivek)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2026, 3:55pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/orchardzsa-finalization/53732/6 "2026-02-02T15:55:34Z")
Dear Zcash community, We’d like to share with you here our update on what we have been working on in the last few weeks. ## The `orchard` crate - The ECC performed reviews on our OrchardZSA PR ([PR#471](https://github.com/zcash/orchard/pull/471)). We have discussed the comments with them, and have successfully resolved those comments - progress which can be seen in [our internal pull requests](https://github.com/QED-it/orchard/pulls?q=is%3Apr+label%3Apr471_review+). We are in the process of the final cleanup, and responding on the review pointing to the changes made. ## The Python reference implementation - We had opened a new PR ([PR#112](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/112)) to upstream to perform some of the changes requested to be separated out into an independent PR in the review of our ZSA changes to the test vectors ([PR#108](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/108)). - We discussed these changes with str4d, and decided that the formatting changes can be reviewed independently. Therefore, we continue to have [PR#112](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/112) for the `rustfmt` formatting changes, and we have opened [PR#114](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/114) for the other output format changes we had proposed. These include the addition of the `pub(crate)` visibility for the Rust test vectors, and some indentations changes that help match it where it is - We have accordingly reverted these formatting changes from our ZSA changes [PR#108](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/108) and responded to all existing comments on it, so that we can proceed with that review and get feedback - we look forward to further comments! ## Changes to the `librustzcash` crate - We have made a number of changes to `librustzcash` are done to support the OrchardZSA review fixes. These can all be seen [here](https://github.com/QED-it/librustzcash/pulls?q=is%3Apr+label%3Aorchard_pr471_review+). - We also updated the `librustzcash` crate to account for the updated test vectors after the upstream merge. The test vectors now work with the addition of the `zip233Amount` to the transaction format. This can be seen in [PR#184](https://github.com/QED-it/librustzcash/pull/184). - Post OrchardZSA review fixes are in progress. ## Zebra - We have similarly performed various changes in Zebra to support the OrchardZSA review changes. These can be seen [here](https://github.com/QED-it/zebra/pulls?q=is%3Apr+label%3Aorchard_pr471_review+). - The state management work continues to progress, and we will submit a subsequent PR with those changes post the review of the current PR ([PR Link](https://github.com/QED-it/zebra/pull/29)). We have also added this functionality to the demo ([PR#89](https://github.com/QED-it/zebra/pull/89)). - We are continuing to discuss the changes in our pull request ([PR#9560](https://github.com/ZcashFoundation/zebra/pull/9560)) to the upstream repository that covers partial support for ZSAs, via parsing, (de)serialisation and validation of V6 transactions with the Zcash Foundation. - We have continued syncing with Zebra - v2.4.2 ([PR#87](https://github.com/QED-it/zebra/pull/87), [PR#88](https://github.com/QED-it/zebra/pull/88)). ## ZIPs - We opened a [minor pull request](https://github.com/zcash/zips/pull/1159) to fix the specification of the `flagsOrchard` encoding, which happened to get removed during an earlier merge of the specification. ## Updates to `zcash_tx_tool` - Blockchain caching development is in progress - the `tx_tool` will cache the relevant data from the blockchain (block headers and notes) in order to avoid re-sync after shutdown, just like a real blockchain client. Some of the latest changes here can be seen in [PR#44](https://github.com/QED-it/zcash_tx_tool/pull/44). - We have continued with automatic pushes of the latest stable Docker images to the ECR. - The Docker images are currently being published to ECR at [**gallery.ecr.aws/j7v0v6n9/tx-tool**](https://gallery.ecr.aws/j7v0v6n9/tx-tool) ## ZSA Single node testnet - The node for the ZSA single node testnet is now **feature complete** and includes - Issuance, Transfer, Burn, Finalize (due to the addition of the global state logic) ## PRs ready for review - The ZIPs repository has the minor [PR#1159](https://github.com/zcash/zips/pull/1159) approved but waiting to be merged by the ZIP Editors. - The `zcash_test_vectors` changes [PR#112](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/112) and [PR#114](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/114) for formatting updates. - The `orchard` crate changes for ZSA are in [PR#471](https://github.com/zcash/orchard/pull/471). (Review fixes in progress) Best, The QEDIT Team. ---
**Author:** ![vivek](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/vivek/32/19682_2.png) [@vivek](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/vivek)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 5:04am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/orchardzsa-finalization/53732/7 "2026-03-06T05:04:19Z")
Dear Zcash community, We’d like to share with you here our update on what we have been working on in the last few weeks. ## The `orchard` crate - str4d had performed a review of our OrchardZSA pull request ([PR#471](https://github.com/zcash/orchard/pull/471)). We resolved those comments. He added further comments in the past few days. We have begun to take those comments into account and respond to them. ## The Python reference implementation - We had opened a new PR ([PR#112](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/112), approved by [**oxarbitrage**](https://github.com/oxarbitrage)) to upstream to perform some of the changes requested to be separated out into an independent PR in the review of our ZSA changes to the test vectors ([PR#108](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/108)). - These changes were discussed with str4d, and the outcome was that the formatting changes can be reviewed independently. Therefore, we continue to have [PR#112](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/112) for the `rustfmt` formatting changes, and we have opened [PR#114](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/114) (approved by [\*\*oxarbitrage](https://github.com/oxarbitrage))\*\* for the other output format changes we had proposed. These include the addition of the `pub(crate)` visibility for the Rust test vectors, and some indentations changes that help match it where it is used. - These formatting changes have been approved by [**oxarbitrage**](https://github.com/oxarbitrage) from ZF, and are awaiting review / merge by someone the core team. - Similarly, our ZSA changes [PR#108](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/108) are ready for review, all existing comments on it have been addressed - we look forward to further comments from the ZODL team. ## Changes to the `librustzcash` crate - A number of changes to `librustzcash` are done to support the OrchardZSA review fixes. These can all be seen [here](https://github.com/QED-it/librustzcash/pulls?q=is%3Apr+label%3Aorchard_pr471_review+) - they have been merged into the `zsa1` branch. - We also updated the `librustzcash` crate to account for the updated test vectors after the upstream merge. The test vectors now work with the addition of the `zip233Amount` to the transaction format. This has been merged to `zsa1` in [PR#207](https://github.com/QED-it/librustzcash/pull/207). - Changes were also made to improve the diff from upstream, in preparation for the review of our [PR#1931](https://github.com/zcash/librustzcash/pull/1931) to upstream, which should be next after the completion of the OrchardZSA review. ## Zebra - We have similarly performed various changes in Zebra to support the OrchardZSA review changes. These can be seen [here](https://github.com/QED-it/zebra/pulls?q=is%3Apr+label%3Aorchard_pr471_review+). - The state management work continues to progress, and we will submit a subsequent PR with those changes post the review of the current PR ([PR Link](https://github.com/QED-it/zebra/pull/29)). We have also added this functionality to the demo ([PR#89](https://github.com/QED-it/zebra/pull/89)). - The state management for issued assets was prepared as is being reviewed ([PR#111](https://github.com/QED-it/zebra/pull/111)). - We are continuing to discuss the changes in our pull request ([PR#9560](https://github.com/ZcashFoundation/zebra/pull/9560)) to the upstream repository that covers partial support for ZSAs, via parsing, (de)serialisation and validation of V6 transactions with the Zcash Foundation. - We have continued syncing with Zebra - v2.4.2 ([PR#87](https://github.com/QED-it/zebra/pull/87), [PR#88](https://github.com/QED-it/zebra/pull/88)). ## ZIPs - A couple of small pull requests ([PR#1159](https://github.com/zcash/zips/pull/1159) and [PR#1168](https://github.com/zcash/zips/pull/1168)) were opened to fix the specification of the `flagsOrchard` encoding and limit the amounts burned in a transaction to `u63`. ## Updates to `zcash_tx_tool` - Blockchain caching development is in progress - the `tx_tool` will cache the relevant data from the blockchain (block headers and notes) in order to avoid re-sync after shutdown, just like a real blockchain client. Some of the latest changes here can be seen in [PR#44](https://github.com/QED-it/zcash_tx_tool/pull/44). - A simple additional test scenario to showcase issuance of an asset was also added ([PR#45](https://github.com/QED-it/zcash_tx_tool/pull/45)). - We have continued with automatic pushes of the latest stable Docker images to the ECR. - The Docker images are currently being published to ECR at [**gallery.ecr.aws/j7v0v6n9/tx-tool**](https://gallery.ecr.aws/j7v0v6n9/tx-tool) ## Open PRs - The `zcash_test_vectors` changes [PR#112](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/112) and [PR#114](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/114) for formatting updates, and [PR#108](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/108) for the ZSA changes. - The `orchard` crate changes for ZSA are in [PR#471](https://github.com/zcash/orchard/pull/471). (Review fixes in progress) Best, The QEDIT Team. ---
**Author:** ![operational-anxiety4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/49beb7/32.png) [@operational-anxiety4](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/operational-anxiety4)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 7:05am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/orchardzsa-finalization/53732/8 "2026-03-07T07:05:24Z")
Appreciate the detailed update; it’s actually refreshing to see the level of mechanical progress here rather than just high-level “we are working on it” posts. The OrchardZSA review cycle with ECC sounds productive, and changes like switching from k256 to secp256k1 for ecosystem compatibility make sense pragmatically since tooling and audits around secp256k1 are far more mature. The only thing I’d be curious about as a community observer is how much of the remaining work is _state_ complexity around ZSA handling in Zebra versus straightforward review fixes, since historically that’s where subtle consensus or indexing issues tend to appear. Still, having issuance, transfer, burn and finalise already working in the single-node testnet is a strong signal that the design is stabilising, and overall this reads like solid, methodical progress toward getting ZSAs safely integrated into NU7. ---
**Author:** ![vivek](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/vivek/32/19682_2.png) [@vivek](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/vivek)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2026, 7:28am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/orchardzsa-finalization/53732/9 "2026-04-01T07:28:41Z")
Dear Zcash community, We’d like to share with you here our update on what we have been working on in the last few weeks. ## The `orchard` crate - The follow-up comments made by str4d on our OrchardZSA pull request ([PR#471](https://github.com/zcash/orchard/pull/471)) at the end of last month have all been responded to. - We also made a merge commit with the upstream along with minimal adjustments. - The issuance handling was improved, and visibility functions were provided for use in Zebra (note commitments for issued notes). ## The Python reference implementation We have three PRs open in this repository, awaiting review: - We have two PRs ([PR#112](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/112) and [PR#114](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/114), both approved by [**oxarbitrage**](https://github.com/oxarbitrage)) which perform various formatting changes, which were requested to be separated out into independent PRs. These include `rustfmt` changes, along with some visibility changes, as described in previous updates. - [PR#114](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/114) was recently rebased on top of recent upstream changes as requested. - Similarly, our ZSA changes (which are on [PR#108](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/108)) are ready for review, all existing comments on it have been addressed - we look forward to further comments from the ZODL team. ## The `sapling-crypto` crate - We submitted a PR ([PR#177](https://github.com/zcash/sapling-crypto/pull/177)) to upstream to adjust sapling to support the latest version of the `zcash_note_encryption` crate. That change was merged some months ago, and makes note sizes generic rather than fixed-length arrays. Our submitted PR updates `sapling-crypto` to conform to that new interface while keeping Sapling’s own note sizes unchanged. ## The `librustzcash` crate - Caught up to the upstream, and improved the diff from upstream, in preparation for the review of our [PR#1931](https://github.com/zcash/librustzcash/pull/1931) to upstream, which should be next after the completion of the OrchardZSA review. - We also made some minor improvements and removed some patches that are not required. - A number of changes to `librustzcash` were done to support the OrchardZSA review fixes, and they have all have been merged into the `zsa1` branch. ## Zebra - We have similarly performed various changes in Zebra to support the OrchardZSA review changes. These can be seen [here](https://github.com/QED-it/zebra/pulls?q=is%3Apr+label%3Aorchard_pr471_review+). - The state management for issued assets has been prepared ([PR#111](https://github.com/QED-it/zebra/pull/111)). - Syncing with Zebra - v4.1.0 ([PR#113](https://github.com/QED-it/zebra/pull/113)) is also currently underway. ## Updates to `zcash_tx_tool` - Our `zcash_tx_tool` repository now caches data (such as block headers and notes) from the blockchain in order to avoid re-sync after shutdown. This is in [PR#44](https://github.com/QED-it/zcash_tx_tool/pull/44). - We have continued with automatic pushes of the latest stable Docker images to the ECR. - The Docker images are currently being published to ECR at [**gallery.ecr.aws/j7v0v6n9/tx-tool**](https://gallery.ecr.aws/j7v0v6n9/tx-tool) ## Open PRs - The `zcash_test_vectors` changes [PR#112](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/112) and [PR#114](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/114) for formatting updates, and [PR#108](https://github.com/zcash/zcash-test-vectors/pull/108) for the ZSA changes. - The `orchard` crate changes for ZSA are in [PR#471](https://github.com/zcash/orchard/pull/471). - The sapling-crypto changes are in [PR#177](https://github.com/zcash/sapling-crypto/pull/177). Best, The QEDIT Team.