Zcash (ZEC) Orchard Vulnerability Explained: A 4-Year Counterfeiting Bug, a 40% Crash, and an Emergency Hard Fork
Zcash (ZEC) was climbing toward $700 and outperforming much of the market when a single disclosure flipped the narrative. On June 5, 2026, word spread that Zcash's Orchard shielded pool had carried a critical cryptographic flaw, one that in theory, could have let an attacker mint unlimited, untraceable counterfeit ZEC. The privacy coin plunged from around $630 to the high-$300s, shedding roughly 40% and dragging the broader privacy sector down with it. The bug had been live since Orchard launche