Dash is upgrading its privacy stack — and it’s borrowing from one of the most battle-tested privacy systems in crypto to do it.
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The network announced plans to integrate Zcash’s Orchard shielded pool into Dash’s Evolution chain, introducing zero-knowledge privacy for standard Dash transfers, with privacy-preserving tokens coming next.
The integration is expected to go live once development and security audits are complete, with deployment targeted for next month.
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From CoinJoin to Zero-Knowledge Privacy
Dash has supported protocol-level privacy for over a decade, most notably through CoinJoin. Orchard represents a clear step forward — replacing mixing-based privacy with modern zero-knowledge cryptography.
Orchard is Zcash’s most advanced privacy system to date. It removed the need for a trusted setup, modernized shielded pools, and made private transactions far more practical across real-world use cases. Dash’s move brings that same cryptographic foundation into its newer, application-focused Evolution chain.
“Our goal has always been to deliver the best possible user experience,” said Samuel Westrich, CTO of Dash Core Group. “With Orchard now open source and mature, integrating it into Evolution was easier than expected. We’re combining it with Dash’s own technologies to deliver privacy that’s fast, efficient, and usable — especially on mobile.”
The Evolution chain operates alongside Dash’s Core chain and is designed for faster syncing and expanded functionality. Dash plans to validate improved mobile performance in the coming weeks.
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Privacy for Assets, Not Just Payments
The initial rollout enables Orchard shielded pools for standard Dash transfers on the Evolution chain. A follow-up upgrade will extend the same privacy guarantees to tokenized assets issued on Evolution.
That’s a meaningful shift. Zcash pioneered shielded transactions for payments and later expanded the model to shielded assets — applying privacy to tokens themselves, not just base-layer transfers. Dash’s roadmap mirrors that trajectory.
Jason McGee Stramaglia, Executive Director of Shielded Labs, framed the integration as part of a broader industry evolution:
“Privacy tech has to keep moving forward. Orchard modernized shielded transactions by removing trusted setup and improving usability. Seeing Dash integrate it — and extend privacy beyond payments to assets — shows that experimentation in this space is still alive.”
A Long View on Privacy
Launched in 2014, Dash is one of the longest-running networks with built-in privacy at the protocol level. It was also the first cryptocurrency to introduce instant transaction finality as a core feature.
The Evolution chain expands Dash’s architecture to support applications, tokens, and now zero-knowledge privacy primitives — without breaking compatibility with the broader network.
More technical details are expected ahead of mainnet activation, but the direction is clear: Dash is positioning privacy not as a bolt-on feature, but as a first-class primitive for assets, applications, and everyday use.
