Bitcoin Cash’s first live native zk-SNARK shielded pool is now running on the network, rather than on a sidechain or Layer 2, according to the event announcement.
The pool turns BCH’s zk-SNARK capability into a usable privacy application on the base layer. It gives the network a direct protocol-level function for shielded transactions, instead of relying on a separate network for that activity. The release therefore adds a native privacy use case to Bitcoin Cash’s existing Layer 1 functionality.
The launch confirms that the pool is available, but it does not by itself show how widely it will be used or whether it will change transaction activity. Those outcomes would depend on actual user adoption and continued operation of the application.