Zcash to Roll Out Quantum-Recoverable Wallets, Aims Post-Quantum
Zcash will introduce quantum-recoverable wallets within a month and plans a full migration to post-quantum cryptography across its network in 12–18 months.
At Consensus in Miami, Josh Swihart, founder and CEO of Zcash Open Development Lab, announced that quantum-recoverable wallets will roll out within a month and that the project aims to migrate the network to post-quantum cryptography in 12 to 18 months.
Swihart also set a target to reach transaction throughput comparable to Mastercard and Visa within the same 12–18 month period.
He framed the work as long-term protection for user privacy, arguing developers are preparing for future quantum machines that could read past blockchain records. He added, “Bitcoin is just fundamentally broken as a peer-to-peer private payment system.”
Developers have already added features to increase shielded use. Last year, the network integrated Near Intents with the Electric Coin Company mobile wallet, enabling cross-chain swaps from Bitcoin, Solana and USDC directly into shielded ZEC. Swihart stated roughly $600 million to $700 million has flowed through that cross-chain path since launch, mostly to and from USD and USDC. The shielded pool now holds about 30% of circulating ZEC, a record for the privacy feature.
ZEC’s market value rose more than 73% over the past 30 days. Market participants linked the gain to institutional disclosures. Multicoin Capital disclosed a sizable position; co-founder Tushar Jain described the investment as “a return to the cypherpunk ideals crypto was founded on.”
The roadmap responds to concern about when quantum computers could break the cryptographic algorithms that protect many blockchains. A report by the quantum security firm Project Eleven warned that a so-called Q-Day could arrive as early as 2030. A recent demonstration used publicly available quantum hardware to break a 15-bit elliptic curve key.
Engineers say the project is prepared to make substantial changes if required. Engineer Sean Bowe told reporters developers stand ready to enact “major protocol changes over a year or two if needed.” Other networks are also working to harden against quantum threats, and some industry groups have noted proof-of-stake designs may face particular quantum-vulnerability issues.
Swihart presented the quantum plan alongside goals for higher throughput and broader access to shielded transactions.
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