Zcash Targeting Post-Quantum Crypto Milestone by 2027

In brief

• Zcash will roll out quantum-recoverable wallets within a month, targeting enhanced security against future quantum computing threats.
• The privacy coin plans to achieve full post-quantum status within 12 to 18 months, positioning itself ahead of major cryptocurrencies in quantum resistance.
• ZEC has surged over the past month following Multicoin Capital's disclosure of a "significant" position in the privacy coin.

Privacy coin Zcash is the latest cryptocurrency preparing to address the mounting threat of quantum attacks.

Speaking during a Thursday address at Consensus Miami's Privacy track, Zcash Open Development Lab founder and CEO Josh Swihart said that quantum-recoverable wallets for the privacy coin are set to roll out within a month, with Zcash targeting full post-quantum status within 12 to 18 months.

Within the same period, the network is also aiming to achieve throughput on a par with Mastercard and Visa, with Swihart arguing that Bitcoin is “just fundamentally broken” as a peer-to-peer private payment system.

Zcash has been on a roll in the past month, surging more than 73% over the past 30 days according to CoinGecko data. Much of that momentum is attributed to institutional interest following Multicoin Capital's disclosure of a “sizable” investment in the privacy coin, with the firm’s co-founder Tushar Jain calling it a “return to the cypherpunk ideals crypto was founded on.”

At Consensus, Swihart highlighted Zcash’s recent technical achievements, including last year's integration of Near Intents with Electric Coin Company's mobile wallet, enabling cross-chain swaps from assets including Bitcoin, Solana and USDC directly into shielded ZEC.

Since its launch, around $600-700 million has flowed through the cross-chain route, mostly to and from USD and USDC, according to Swihart. The enhanced accessibility appears to be driving adoption of Zcash's privacy features, with the network’s shielded pool now containing 30% of circulating ZEC—an all-time high.

Crypto and Q-Day

Zcash's quantum resistance push comes amid growing anxiety over the threat posed by “Q-Day,” the moment when quantum computers become sufficiently powerful to break the cryptography underpinning Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

This week, a report by quantum security firm Project Eleven warned that Q-Day could arrive as soon as 2030, following last month’s revelation that a researcher had successfully broken a 15-bit elliptic curve key using public quantum hardware.

Zcash developers have already been preparing for the quantum threat, with Zcash contributor and engineer Sean Bowe telling Decrypt that developers are prepared to make “major protocol changes over a year or two if needed.” Other major blockchains including Solana and Aptos have also moved to harden their networks against future quantum attacks, while Coinbase recently flagged proof-of-stake chains like Ethereum and Solana as facing particular quantum risks.