Privacy-focused Layer 1 blockchain Zano has activated Hard Fork 6 (HF6) on its mainnet, marking what the project calls the biggest upgrade in its seven-year history.
The update is aimed at making Zano easier for exchanges, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and bridges to work with, while keeping its core privacy features intact.
The upgrade went live on August 26, 2026, bringing several changes to how Zano handles accounts, cross-chain transfers and network security.
What does the update include?
One of the biggest additions is Gateway Addresses, a new type of account-based address designed specifically to make integrations easier. Zano’s existing UTXO-based system plays an important role in protecting transaction privacy, but it can also make things more complicated for exchanges and other platforms trying to track balances and process transactions.
Gateway Addresses are meant to solve that problem. They give services a single balance that can be tracked directly and make it easier for platforms to synchronize transactions.
For regular users, however, very little changes. Anyone who continues using Zano’s standard addresses will keep the same privacy protections as before.
“The UTXO model is fundamental to Zano’s privacy, so replacing it was never the goal,” said Andrey Sabelnikov, Zano’s co-founder and lead developer. He said Gateway Addresses are being added to provide the account-style functionality that larger services need without changing the privacy guarantees of standard addresses.
ZANO adds non-custodial cross-chain bridging
HF6 also makes it possible for native ZANO to move between Zano and other blockchains without a custodian. For the first time, ZANO can be bridged to networks including Ethereum, Solana and TON.
Previously, the cross-chain flow largely worked in the opposite direction. Assets such as BTC, ETH and SOL could be brought into Zano, where they could benefit from the network’s privacy features. Now, ZANO itself can move out to other networks.
There is an important trade-off, though. Once ZANO is on a transparent blockchain such as Ethereum or Solana, those transactions are publicly visible. If the asset is moved back to Zano, it once again receives Zano’s privacy protections.
Zano believes these changes could make the network more attractive to the wider crypto industry. Quinten van Welzen, the project’s head of growth, said HF6 could make it easier for ZANO to enter DeFi liquidity pools and secure additional exchange listings. Zano is already speaking with THORChain and other DEXs about potential integrations.
The upgrade isn’t just about adoption. HF6 also brings several technical improvements, including stricter consensus rules, stronger wallet encryption and per-output payment IDs that allow exchanges and merchants to identify payments while keeping recipient information private.
The network also gets stronger protections against denial-of-service attacks, more reliable mining-pool infrastructure and safer RPC interfaces for developers. Node operators can also route traffic through proxies such as Tor.
HF6 is only one part of Zano’s broader roadmap. The project is developing Zano Execution Layer (ZEL), an EVM-compatible sidechain designed to bring smart contracts to the ecosystem while keeping the main Zano chain focused on privacy.
Zano is also working on Zenith, a planned move to a pure proof-of-stake consensus system, currently targeted for Q2 2027.
With HF6 now live, Zano is trying to solve a problem many privacy-focused networks face: how to remain private without becoming isolated from the rest of crypto.
