Zcash Developers Plan to Implement Quantum-Resistant Payments

Zcash (ZEC) developers plan to add protection against quantum computers in January. January is the team's target date, but there is no confirmed network activation date yet. About 70% of issued ZEC are in transparent payments, and the update specifically addresses this open part of the network. Shielded payments require separate security measures. The Zakura program, used for operating the Zcash network, has also developed a tool that allows checking balances without revealing associated addresses to the server.

“Our team plans to implement post-quantum signature opcodes in Zcash in January,” wrote Roman Akhtaryev, a developer at Zakura. These opcodes will enable Zcash to verify hash-based signatures—a method of payment confirmation resistant to quantum attacks. The goal is to prevent malicious actors from using current public keys to forge wallet owner consent and spend their coins. Forgery would require breaking hashes, so a breakthrough against current keys would not grant automatic access to replacements.

Zcash measures become particularly relevant in light of a warning from Ethereum researcher Justin Drake. He urged preparation for “bunker mode,” warning that AI could find ways around the mathematical protection of bitcoin and ether wallets “within months, not years” in the worst-case scenario. ZEC was priced around $1,185 on Thursday, having dropped approximately 11% over the week, leading the decline among top cryptocurrencies after Drake's post went viral on X. According to CoinDesk calculations based on ZecStats, 11.96 million out of 16.98 million issued ZEC were in the transparent pool. A standard transparent address hides the public key behind a hash; spending reveals the key, and transferring the remaining balance to a fresh address places it behind another key. However, checking such addresses can reveal connections between them: the wallet requests balances from the server, allowing it to match addresses. The Zakura tool uses private information retrieval, allowing the database to return a record without knowing which one was requested. An experimental version is available in the Vizor wallet.