Zcash Team Prepares Quantum-Resistant Upgrade for Transparent Payments
Zcash developers plan to add hash-based quantum-resistant signature commands to the network's public transaction module by January. The upgrade is meant to reduce risks if current wallet keys are compromised, but no network-wide activation date has been set. The Zakura team also created a private query tool in the Vizor wallet to prevent balance checks from revealing links between addresses.
Zcash separates shielded and transparent transactions. Transparent records are visible, and roughly 11.96 million of 16.98 million circulating ZEC sat in that pool as of Thursday. The proposed hash-based authorization method is intended to lower exposure if existing public keys later become reconstructable.
Zakura also added a Vizor wallet option for private queries, which uses private information retrieval so balance checks do not reveal which records a server serves. The announcement followed Ethereum researcher Justin Drake’s warning that quantum and AI advances might threaten wallet cryptography sooner than expected; Ethereum aims for quantum-resistant cryptography by December 2029.
If deployed, these changes could affect Zcash users who rely on transparent transactions, wallet providers, and services that query balances. Stronger signatures may reduce concerns about future key compromise, while private balance queries could make address clustering harder. However, because network activation is undecided and no practical quantum attack has been reported, near-term effects may remain limited. Market sentiment could still shift if similar warnings prompt other projects to prioritize post-quantum planning.