Key takeaways
- Anthropic’s Mythos Restricted AI audited the entire Zcash protocol at the request of Shielded Labs and found no new critical bugs as of June 12, 2026.
- ZEC is trading between $411 and $416 on June 13, recovering from the June 5 low near $300 after the Orchard circuit bug was fixed via NU6.2.
- Shielded Labs and Zcash contributors continue their work to strengthen security ahead of the Ironwood upgrade, scheduled for late July 2026.
Zooko Thanks Anthropic After Full Protocol Audit
THE statement comes directly from Zooko, the online nickname of Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn, computer security specialist, cryptographer and co-creator of Zcash. Writing about X, he said:
“Thank you, Anthropic, for helping protect Zcash users. At the request of Shielded Labs, they conducted a security audit of Zcash with Mythos. It found no more serious bugs in the Zcash protocol. Shielded Labs and others continue their work to strengthen security. Stay tuned for updates.”
The message came a week after the public disclosure of a critical robustness bug in Orchard’s protected pool, which triggered a 38-50% price collapse in ZEC within 48 hours of its public release on June 4-5.
What is myth and why it matters
Anthropic Overview of the myth is the company’s most advanced AI model, introduced in April 2026 as part of its Project Glasswing defensive security initiative. Unlike the Claude models available to the general public, Mythos is not accessible to the public. Anthropic restricts access to a limited group of trusted partners, including large technology companies and critical infrastructure projects, precisely because of its capabilities in autonomous security research, zero-day vulnerability detection, and complex code base analysis.
Shielded Labs, the non-profit organization supporting the development of Zcash, secured access to Mythos and led the audit of the entire Zcash protocol.
The orchard bug that triggered the crisis
The Mythos audit follows a heartbreaking episode for Zcash holders. In late May 2026, security researcher Taylor Hornby, working under contract with Shielded Labs, used a custom AI auditing framework built around Claude Opus 4.8 to identify an under-constrained circuit element in the Orchard shielded pool’s zero-knowledge proof system. The flaw existed since Orchard was activated in May 2022 and had remained undetected for approximately four years despite prior expert audits.
The bug represented an offer- inflation risk. An attacker with sufficient technical knowledge could have created a counterfeit ZEC inside the privacy pool, completely undetectable on-chain.
Developers moved quickly. A soft fork on June 2 temporarily disabled all Orchard actions. A hard fork on June 3, the NU6.2 upgrade, enabled a patched circuit and re-enabled Orchard without chain breaking.
The public disclosure on June 4 and 5 still triggered a strong sell-off. ZEC fell from a pre-disclosure price near $624 to intraday lows approaching $300 on some exchanges, wiping billions from the market capitalization in hours.
What clean audit means for ZEC holders
The Mythos result does not close the book on security work. Zooko made it clear that efforts were continuing. Shielded Labs and other contributors are continuing to strengthen security, which includes formal verification of the Orchard circuit, an additional AI-assisted audit, and plans to hire a dedicated security manager and cryptographer.
The Ironwood upgrade, scheduled to activate in late July 2026, will deploy a new armored pool using the patched version. Orchard circuit and apply stricter round-robin accounting to enable independent verification of supply. Ironwood’s proposal directly addresses lingering questions about supply integrity introduced by the Orchard bug.
ZEC Price Holds Above $400
As of June 13, ZEC is trading in a range of $411 to $416, stabilizing above the $400 support level after recovering 45% to 80% from the June 5 lows. THE market capitalization is between $6.9 billion and $7.0 billion. ZEC ranks among top 12-15 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization at current prices.
The outcome of the Mythos audit, combined with the speed of the emergency solution and Ironwood’s roadmap, supported the recovery. The price remains well below the June 4 high near $624, with the next major catalyst likely related to progress on Ironwood.
Security work continues
Zooko’s statement ended with a clear signal: this is not a statement of completion. “Stay tuned for updates,” he wrote, highlighting an ongoing program that now includes some of the most advanced AI security tools available in the world.
For ZEC holders, Mythos’ own audit provides real assurance after two eventful weeks. The most powerful available reviewer of the protocol found nothing new. The team is still looking.
