Welcome to September. Pirate Chain is moving directly to Ironwood on 3 October, skipping Orchard entirely and combining that upgrade with a planned dPoW update in one coordinated hardfork. Alongside that, we have a new test release, lightwallet server privacy improvements, a DEFCON recap, ongoing crowdfunding, and community discussions about what Pirate Chain should build next.

ARRR 8th birthday

Pirate Chain was created on 29th of August, 2018 as a theoretical chain concept that leverages required encrypted, shielded transactions. Eight years of uncompromising privacy from Pirate Chain. Privacy is not optional. The next chapter begins now.

The New Unified Harness is Here! Hello Stashi!

Pirate Chain's new flagship light harness, Stashi, is now here, serving multiple platforms. Stashi is unified, streamlined, and built for the future. Download Stashi from GitHub. Stashi's supported platforms include Linux, Windows, macOS, and mobile.

Stashi brings users a faster and more reliable synchronisation experience. Embedded Tor and I2P connectivity adds an additional network privacy enhancement to the wallet. Stashi supports multiple wallets where users can create, restore, and switch between separate ARRR wallets inside the application. Stashi works for both the upcoming new Ironwood-shielded transactions as well as traditional Sapling-shielded transactions, and it is fast!

Treasure Chest Update and Move to Ironwood

Pirate Chain is bypassing Orchard and moving directly to Ironwood, Zcash’s newest shielded pool. Ironwood is built on the Halo2 proving system and is the first Zcash shielded pool to ship alongside machine-checked formal verification of its own circuit design.

Pirate Chain’s move to Ironwood is now set to launch on 3 October, 19:00 UTC. The network is bypassing Orchard and moving directly to Ironwood, a newer shielded pool built on the Halo2 proving system. This upgrade removes the older trusted-setup model for new Ironwood transactions and introduces a trustless shielded pool backed by machine-checked formal verification.

A required Treasure Chest full node wallet update is now available. Users running Treasure Chest must update to version 6.0.0+ before 19 September 2026 at approximately 19:00 UTC at block 4141650 in order to continue synchronising the blockchain.

The upgrade will combine Ironwood with the planned Treasure Chest and dPoW update in a single coordinated hardfork. This means one network upgrade instead of two separate disruptions. After Ironwood activates, users will be able to move funds from existing Sapling addresses into new Ironwood shielded addresses. New wallets and new addresses created after activation will use Ironwood addresses by default.

Existing Sapling addresses will continue to be supported, and users will still be able to move funds between Sapling and Ironwood. However, moving funds into Ironwood allows users to benefit from the new trustless shielded pool going forward.

If you run Treasure Chest, update before the September 19 deadline. If you are a regular wallet user, keep an eye on official Pirate Chain channels for wallet updates and instructions as Ironwood activation approaches.

Newer releases introduce Ironwood as a new shielded transaction pool and includes several important privacy and networking improvements. Included in the release:

• Ironwood shielded transaction pool
• Halo2 proving system
• Bundled Tor networking
• Bundled I2P networking
• Peer-to-peer networking
• Transaction privacy improvements

Download Treasure Chest from the PirateNetwork GitHub and follow the release notes carefully. If testing on a device that already runs Treasure Chest, read the instructions closely and make sure your wallet seed phrase is backed up before starting.

Lightwallet Server Adds Tor and I2P Endpoints

Pirate Chain’s lightwallet server now has Tor and I2P endpoints, making light wallet usage more private.

Treasure Chest has had Tor and I2P support for some time, but extending this to lightwallet improves network-level privacy for light wallet users too. A Pirate Chain wallet already hides balances, addresses, and transaction details, but network-level privacy matters because light servers could otherwise see the IP address connecting to them. Tor and I2P help reduce that exposure.

This work is closely connected to Stashi, where 100% privacy remains a major design goal.

Null404 at DEFCON

Pirate Chain co-sponsored the Null404 afterparty at DEFCON in Las Vegas for the fourth year in a row. DEFCON is one of the largest cybersecurity events in the world, making it an ideal place to reach people who already understand why privacy and security matter.

We had the opportunity to share some swag including lanyards, stickers, and bottle openers, and onboard new people into the community. As an event with strong networking opportunities with cybersecurity professionals, developers, and privacy-minded technologists, Null404 continues to be a valuable partner and a strong cybersecurity education community. More information about their research and talks can be found at null404.org.

Community Roundtable Discussions

Pirate Chain aimed to hold 10 community roundtable discussions to gather feedback on what the project should build next. With Ironwood and Stashi nearing major milestones, the community needs to start discussing the next direction.

The discussions took the place of the regular Sunday community calls with additional Saturday sessions, and covered high-level topics such as possible methods for a future secondary consensus layer and adding base support through signatory nodes. The goal is to gather input from the community before the team moves into the next major development phase.

Nine roundtable dicussions have already occured and the team is looking at hosting a couple of sessions that work better for Asia-Pacific and other time zones. Check the Pirate Chain Discord events calendar for details.

August Monthly Update Meeting

Privacy Is Entering the Mainstream Conversation

One major theme from the August monthly update was the growing public concern around surveillance. Tools like automatic license plate readers, AI-assisted tracking, biometric monitoring, and other surveillance technologies are pushing privacy into the mainstream conversation.

This is an important moment for Pirate Chain and the wider privacy movement. The message should not be limited to cryptocurrency speculation. Pirate Chain should be presented as part of a broader privacy toolkit alongside tools like Tor, VPNs, GrapheneOS, Linux, self-hosting, and file encryption.

Financial privacy is one of the most important forms of privacy. As more payments move away from cash and toward fully tracked digital systems, private digital money becomes increasingly necessary. Pirate Chain’s role is to provide a working tool for private, censorship-resistant payments.

In Closing

The next few months are important. Ironwood is moving closer, Stashi is becoming faster and more polished, dPoW updates are being coordinated, and the community is actively discussing what should come next.

Pirate Chain has now been running for eight years without a major privacy vulnerability. That track record matters. With Ironwood, improved wallet infrastructure, stronger network privacy, and renewed public interest in privacy, Pirate Chain is entering one of its most important development phases yet.

Stay Connected

The next monthly update will take place on Monday the 14th of September at 3 PM Eastern Time.

Starting in October, we are changing the monthly update meeting to the first Monday of the month. The October monthly update meeting will be on Monday the 5th of October at 3 PM Eastern Time. We will also celebrate the launch of Ironwood together at that time.

Community calls continue every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern Time on Discord. These calls are open to everyone and are one of the best places to ask questions, share ideas, test new tools, and help shape the future of Pirate Chain.

Article Credits

☑️ Krysler ☑️ AmyV ☑️ QuirkyRobots