Zakura Node
Zakura is a free, open-source full node implementation for Zcash, built for scale. Forked from Zebra and developed through a collaboration between Valar Group and Project Tachyon, Zakura delivers dramatically faster synchronization, native block pruning, and a compatibility layer for legacy zcashd tooling. Version 1.0.0 was released on July 15, 2026.
TL;DR
- Zakura is a consensus-compatible Zcash full node — an alternative to Zebra and zcashd, forked from Zebra.
- Blockchain sync is approximately 5× faster than Zebra; snapshot bootstrapping completes in under 2 minutes.
- Native block pruning allows operators to run a full node with dramatically less disk space (~11 GB pruned snapshot vs. 300 GB for a full Zebra node).
- A zcashd RPC compatibility mode lets existing wallets and integrations work without modification.
- An experimental P2P transport layer (disabled by default) targets sub-500ms block propagation with DoS-resistant gossip.
- Compatible with Ironwood (NU6.3), the Zcash network upgrade activated in mid-2026.
- Zakura Common (v1.3.0, August 2026) speeds up the cryptography wallets use to build private transactions: from over 3 seconds to under 200 ms in many cases, per Zakura's benchmarks.
- Led by Sean Bowe (Zcash cofounder, Project Tachyon) and Dev Ojha (Valar Group).
What is Zakura?
Zakura is a Zcash full node designed from the ground up to be production-ready at scale. While it shares consensus compatibility with Zebra — meaning it validates and follows the same Zcash protocol rules — Zakura introduces significant engineering improvements aimed at lowering the barrier to running a Zcash full node.
The project is a joint effort between Project Tachyon (led by Sean Bowe, one of Zcash's original cryptographic engineers) and Valar Group (led by Dev Ojha). Together they focus on next-generation Zcash protocol improvements, and Zakura serves as the reference node for that work.
Key Features
5× Faster Chain Synchronization
Zakura achieves approximately 5× faster blockchain synchronization compared to Zebra. This makes it significantly more practical for operators who need to spin up a node quickly or recover from downtime.
Snapshot Bootstrapping
Zakura publishes pre-built chain snapshots that dramatically reduce initial sync time:
| Bootstrap Method | Time |
|---|
| Archive snapshot | ~37 minutes |
| Pruned snapshot | Under 2 minutes |
| Zebra (full sync) | ~20 hours |
Pruned snapshots are approximately 11 GB, enabling a 680× faster node bootstrap compared to syncing from genesis.
Native Block Pruning
Zakura supports configurable block pruning, allowing node operators to define how much chain history to retain. This makes it practical to run a full node on hardware with limited storage — useful for validators, developers, and infrastructure providers who do not need the full historical chain.
zcashd RPC Compatibility Mode
Zakura includes a compatibility mode that reproduces the legacy zcashd JSON-RPC interface. Existing wallets, exchanges, and integrations that rely on zcashd RPCs can switch to Zakura without requiring code changes.
Experimental P2P Transport Layer
Zakura ships with a next-generation peer-to-peer transport layer, currently disabled by default. When enabled, it targets:
- Sub-500ms worst-case block propagation across the network
- Mempool aggregation for more efficient transaction relay
- DoS-resistant gossip protocol to improve network resilience
This layer represents a preview of future Zcash network-level improvements being developed under Project Tachyon.
Ironwood (NU6.3) Compatible
Zakura is fully compatible with the Ironwood network upgrade (NU6.3), activated on the Zcash mainnet in mid-2026.
Zakura Common: Faster Wallet Cryptography
In August 2026 the Zakura team released Zakura Common, a set of accelerated forks of the cryptography libraries that Zcash wallets and nodes rely on. Zakura switched to the new stack in version 1.3.0, and Vizor Wallet is among the first wallets to integrate it.
According to Zakura's own benchmarks:
| Operation | Speedup |
|---|
| Proof generation on mobile | more than 14× (desktop: more than 5×) |
| Sinsemilla hashing | more than 21× |
| zk-SNARK verification | 4–8× |
| Trial decryption | more than 1.5× |
For users, the most visible change is waiting time. Building a private transaction used to take a wallet more than three seconds. With Zakura Common it can take under 200 ms in many cases. This is the time your device spends preparing the transaction, not the time the network needs to confirm it.
How Zakura Relates to Other Zcash Nodes
| zcashd | Zebra | Zakura |
|---|
| Language | C++ (forked from Bitcoin) | Rust | Rust (forked from Zebra) |
| Status | Deprecated | Active | Active (v1.0.0, Jul 2026) |
| Sync speed | Baseline | ~1× | ~5× faster |
| Block pruning | No | No | Yes |
| zcashd RPC compat | Native | Partial | Yes (compat mode) |
| Snapshot bootstrap | No | No | Yes (less than 2 min) |
| Experimental P2P | No | No | Yes (opt-in) |
Getting Started
Download options, snapshots, and configuration documentation are available at:
Related Pages
- Zebra Full Node — the upstream Zcash full node Zakura was forked from
- Zaino Indexer — a Rust-based indexer compatible with Zebra and Zakura
- Full Nodes — overview of Zcash full node options
- Lightwallet Nodes — lightweight client alternatives
Resources
