diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index 926052caa..fb0ac0b18 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -52,6 +52,21 @@ if [[ "${1:-}" == "--linux-release" ]]; then
     exit $?
 fi
 
+# Check for --mac-release flag for macOS release build (must be run on macOS)
+if [[ "${1:-}" == "--mac-release" ]]; then
+    check_and_clean_target "macos-release"
+    shift
+    if [[ "$OSTYPE" != "darwin"* ]]; then
+        echo "ERROR: --mac-release must be run on a native macOS system."
+        echo "  Copy this repo to a Mac and run: ./build.sh --mac-release $*"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    echo "Building macOS release natively..."
+    ./util/build-mac.sh "$@"
+    echo "macOS release build complete."
+    exit $?
+fi
+
 # run correct build script for detected OS
 if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
     check_and_clean_target "linux"
diff --git a/src/Makefile.am b/src/Makefile.am
index c5697ba3e..f17f1d4f7 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/Makefile.am
@@ -51,8 +51,12 @@ LIBHUSH=libhush.a
 if TARGET_WINDOWS
 LIBRANDOMX=RandomX/build-win64/librandomx.a
 else
+if TARGET_DARWIN
+LIBRANDOMX=RandomX/build-darwin/librandomx.a
+else
 LIBRANDOMX=RandomX/build-linux/librandomx.a
 endif
+endif
 
 if BUILD_BITCOIN_LIBS
 LIBZCASH_CONSENSUS=libzcashconsensus.la
diff --git a/util/build-mac.sh b/util/build-mac.sh
index 745a72238..1e8ebb5f7 100755
--- a/util/build-mac.sh
+++ b/util/build-mac.sh
@@ -1,10 +1,37 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
-# Copyright (c) 2016-2024 The Hush developers
+# Copyright (c) 2016-2026 The Hush developers
 # Distributed under the GPLv3 software license, see the accompanying
 # file COPYING or https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html
+#
+# Native macOS build script.
+# Requires: Xcode Command Line Tools, cmake, autoconf, automake, libtool, pkgconfig
+# Optional: Homebrew GCC (brew install gcc) for better C++ compatibility
+
+set -eu -o pipefail
+
+# --- Detect architecture ---
+ARCH=$(uname -m)  # arm64 or x86_64
+
+# --- Detect compiler ---
+# Prefer Homebrew GCC if available, otherwise use system clang
+if command -v brew &>/dev/null; then
+    # Find newest Homebrew GCC version
+    GCC_PATH=$(ls -d /opt/homebrew/bin/gcc-[0-9]* /usr/local/bin/gcc-[0-9]* 2>/dev/null | sort -t- -k2 -n | tail -1 || true)
+    GXX_PATH=$(echo "$GCC_PATH" | sed 's/gcc-/g++-/')
+fi
+
+if [ -n "${GCC_PATH:-}" ] && [ -x "$GCC_PATH" ]; then
+    export CC="$GCC_PATH"
+    export CXX="$GXX_PATH"
+    echo "Using Homebrew GCC: $CC / $CXX"
+    EXTRA_CXXFLAGS="-fwrapv -fno-strict-aliasing -Wno-builtin-declaration-mismatch -Werror -g"
+else
+    export CC=clang
+    export CXX=clang++
+    echo "Using system clang: $CC / $CXX"
+    EXTRA_CXXFLAGS="-fwrapv -fno-strict-aliasing -Werror -g"
+fi
 
-export CC=gcc-8
-export CXX=g++-8
 export LIBTOOL=libtool
 export AR=ar
 export RANLIB=ranlib
@@ -12,8 +39,6 @@ export STRIP=strip
 export OTOOL=otool
 export NM=nm
 
-set -eu -o pipefail
-
 if [ "x$*" = 'x--help' ]
 then
     cat <<EOF
@@ -53,22 +78,22 @@ echo $PWD
 ./makecustom
 cd $WD
 
-# Build RandomX
+# Build RandomX for macOS
 cd src/RandomX
-if [ -d "build" ]
+if [ -f "build-darwin/librandomx.a" ]
 then
-    ls -la build/librandomx*
+    ls -la build-darwin/librandomx*
 else
-    mkdir build && cd build
-    CC="${CC} -g " CXX="${CXX} -g " cmake ..
+    mkdir -p build-darwin && cd build-darwin
+    CC="${CC} -g " CXX="${CXX} -g " cmake -DARCH=native ..
     make
 fi
 
 cd $WD
 
 ./autogen.sh
-CPPFLAGS="-I$PREFIX/include -arch x86_64" LDFLAGS="-L$PREFIX/lib -arch x86_64 -Wl,-no_pie" \
-CXXFLAGS='-arch x86_64 -I/usr/local/Cellar/gcc\@8/8.3.0/include/c++/8.3.0/ -I$PREFIX/include -fwrapv -fno-strict-aliasing -Wno-builtin-declaration-mismatch -Werror -g -Wl,-undefined -Wl,dynamic_lookup' \
+CPPFLAGS="-I$PREFIX/include" LDFLAGS="-L$PREFIX/lib -Wl,-undefined -Wl,dynamic_lookup" \
+CXXFLAGS="${EXTRA_CXXFLAGS} -I$PREFIX/include" \
 ./configure --prefix="${PREFIX}" --with-gui=no "$HARDENING_ARG" "$LCOV_ARG"
 
 make "$@" V=1 NO_GTEST=1 STATIC=1