This month's update highlights Pirate Chain's continued progress across development and the wider ecosystem. Key updates include the decision to move directly to Ironwood in a single network upgrade, major advancements to the Unified Wallet, new community crowdfunding initiatives, ongoing fundraising for AnonBazaar, the launch of the AI-powered InfoSifter Telegram bot, and upcoming Community Roundtable Discussions throughout August to help shape the project's future.
Monthly Update Meeting
We said Orchard. We're shipping Ironwood instead
Pirate Chain (ARRR) announced that it is bypassing Orchard entirely and building directly on Ironwood, Zcash's newest shielded pool, and the first to ship alongside a machine-checked formal verification of its own circuit design. Read more in the blog post Pirate Chain Skips a Generation: ARRR Moves Directly to Ironwood.
Development is already underway. Pirate Chain will activate Ironwood and roll out a planned dPoW update in a single combined hardfork, one coordinated network upgrade instead of two separate disruptions. The engineering team is targeting activation in the coming months, with a specific date to follow as testing wraps up.
Unified Wallet Progress
The Unified Wallet continues to move forward, and testing remains open through the PirateNetwork GitHub. iOS users can request TestFlight access in the Unified Wallet testing channel on Discord.
Latest wallet updates
- Multilingual support added across many languages
- New fonts added for languages including Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Devanagari-based scripts
- Debugging is now disabled by default and can be enabled manually in settings
- Tor startup issue fixed across platforms
- Continued atomic swap development using Komodo DeFi Framework
- Improvements to asset recovery
- Background sync issue fixed
- React Native plugin and iOS/Android SDK dependencies updated
- Portal integration added to the Unified Wallet backend
- GitHub CI/CD now builds CoreDLL JNI libraries for multiple platforms
- Duress password unlock bug fixed
- Sapling and Orchard Rust dependencies updated
The next major focus is finishing atomic swap validation and shipping a new version for stores and users.
The wallet is still in testing, so users should be careful, secure their seed phrases immediately, and report any bugs or UI feedback in Discord. Even small usability suggestions are useful at this stage.
Atomic swaps remain one of the most exciting features coming to the Unified Wallet. Native swap functionality inside the wallet will make Pirate Chain more usable and reduce reliance on centralized exchanges.
The goal is to make it easier for users to move in and out of ARRR directly from the wallet, while keeping control of their funds. Work is ongoing, and the team is focused on validation and reliability before release.
New Discord Crowdfunding Channel
A new crowdfunding channel has been created in the Pirate Chain Discord. This gives community members a place to propose ideas, explain what they want to build or promote, and share a Pirate Chain donation address for the community to support.
You may need to review your Discord settings after new channels are added to see new channels. Go to the Pirate Chain Discord and enable Show All Channels.
This is meant to help decentralize initiative-building even further. Whether someone wants to hand out stickers at an event, build a tool, create marketing materials, or launch a small development project, they now have a place to present the idea directly to the community.
A word of caution: this is a public Discord channel, so always research projects carefully before donating. Do not send funds to people or initiatives you do not understand or trust. For newer contributors, it may be better to start with a smaller project first, build trust, show receipts, and then work toward larger initiatives.
AnonBazaar Fundraising
The AnonBazaar fundraiser is one of the most important utility-focused efforts underway. AnonBazaar is a privacy-coin marketplace similar to eBay, where users can buy and sell goods using privacy coins.
Getting Pirate Chain listed there would give ARRR users a practical place to spend and earn private money. It also creates an easier onboarding path: instead of buying ARRR from an exchange, users could sell old items, products, or services and receive ARRR directly.
Community support is still needed. Donations can be made through the crowdfunding page, and even small amounts help show demand.
Donations are accepted in ARRR, Monero, and Litecoin through piratechain.com/crowdfunding, and the Pirate Chain team is matching community donations.
The Pirate Chain team will be matching community donations for AnonBazaar. Contributions can be made in ARRR, Monero, or Litecoin, and even small donations help signal demand and move the integration forward.
You can donate in ARRR, XMR, or LTC. View keys are posted for ARRR/XMR transparency.
AnonBazaar online marketplace Pirate Chain (ARRR) donation address
zs1m6t28gfep59dg84pvpqm7dx8w9jw4nk42acm8mt5c4llf2j9d5rr00w04l9gkqtpglttucvgl2l
ARRR on AnonBazaar Monero (XMR) donation address
44CNoS4hd9uFBE3DKohrapWiyztCYe5Faio3x7hrveHFADzr3pZWpUUA5RoaVtkcSAhpWPAjHqc8YNinNAe7aAMjRckSMYG
ARRR on AnonBazaar multisig Litecoin (LTC) donation address
ltc1qrmtwjshqu2s53z63eetcgpn27c0umxvxh5t4lw7qvm77xzxu4n8sdjnn35
InfoSifter Telegram Bot
A new Telegram Guard bot, InfoSifter, is now helping protect the Pirate Chain Telegram group from spam, impersonators, and scammers.
InfoSifter was created by longtime Pirate Chain community member Artto. It uses AI to help detect suspicious messages and reduce spam activity in the Telegram community. Artto has contributed heavily to Pirate Chain over the years, and this is another example of the community building tools to protect and improve the ecosystem.
Community members are encouraged to thank Artto and support his work if they can.
Pirate Chain Community Roundtable Discussions in August
Pirate Chain (ARRR) is looking to gather feedback from the community during the month of August through Pirate Chain Community Roundtable Discussions, which will take the place of the community calls during August. Additional roundtable discussion sessions will also be scheduled in August. Please look at the Events calendar on the Pirate Chain Discord for more information about the dates of the Pirate Chain Community Roundtable Discussions.
In Closing
As Pirate Chain continues to evolve, the focus remains on delivering meaningful improvements that strengthen privacy, usability, and real-world adoption. From the upcoming Ironwood upgrade and ongoing Unified Wallet development to community-driven initiatives like AnonBazaar and new ecosystem tools, the project continues to build momentum. If you'd like to get involved, whether by testing, contributing, or joining the discussion, now is a great time to become part of the Pirate Chain community.
The next Pirate Chain monthly update will take place on the 10th of August at 3 PM Eastern Time. Join our Pirate Chain community calls on Sundays at 1 PM Eastern Time on Discord.
The calls are open to everyone to ask questions, share ideas, and get involved directly with the Pirate Chain community.
Article Credits
☑️ Krysler ☑️ AmyV ☑️ QuirkyRobots