In August 2025, digital assets platform Gemini claims that it became the first major crypto exchange to support Zcash unified addresses. Now, the Gemini exchange is taking the next step by enabling complete support for Orchard, which is described as Zcash‘s most advanced privacy protocol. The digital assets exchange noted that if customers are currently withdrawing Zcash to unified addresses, this update happens automatically. Withdrawals now “route to the strongest privacy layer available.”
When Gemini introduced unified address support, it connected its customers to the Sapling shielded pool. Orchard takes that privacy to the “next level.”
The update from Gemini explained that the main difference is that Orchard is built on “pure cryptographic math” that is said to be using Halo 2 recursive proofs.
Earlier protocols such as Sprout and Sapling needed elaborate “trusted setup ceremonies” that required participants to “destroy secret data. Orchard eliminates that process entirely.”
No trust assumptions are there, and no so-called human ceremonies, just pure math.
As explained in a blog post, Orchard also presently runs as its own dedicated privacy pool, intended to be isolated from any legacy vulnerabilities. It uses newer cryptographic foundations that aim to provide “stronger security guarantees and better protection against future threats.”
As stated in the update from Gemini, modern or the latest Zcash wallets like Zashi now default to Orchard for new transactions. When exchange users generate a unified address in these wallets, they “get an Orchard receiver.”
By adding Orchard support, Gemini ensures “withdrawals from Gemini automatically use the best privacy technology available. No extra steps or configuration.”
Customers presently using unified addresses with Gemini may now expect the following:
- Withdrawals now automatically route to Orchard when available
- There’s full compatibility with modern Zcash wallets like Zashi
- The same seamless experience with no changes to workflow
- Depositing to transparent Gemini addresses
As clarified in the announcement, the upgrade is automatic. Now users get the benefit of stronger privacy “without changing anything.”
Gemini has introduced unified address support because the crypto exchange claims that privacy should be accessible to everyone, and not just the so-called technical experts.
Adding Orchard keeps the company aligned “with where the Zcash ecosystem is heading.”
As Gemini said in August: “Cypherpunks write code.”
This not just about privacy, it also more about “building the infrastructure that makes it real.” Supporting Orchard means supporting the “most advanced privacy technology available today.”
According to the blog post, this is how privacy should work: Simple for users, yet actually quite powerful “under the hood.”
