BlockBeats reported on Oct. 9 that the Zcash development team plans to introduce quantum-resistant signature opcodes to the network in January 2027. The proposed change would support transaction verification through hash-based signatures and is intended to reduce the threat that future breakthroughs in quantum computing could pose to wallet key security. A formal activation date, however, has not yet been determined.
Post-quantum signature opcodes are planned for Zcash
Roman Akhtariev, an engineer at Zakura, said the team intends to bring post-quantum signature opcodes into Zcash next January. The mechanism is designed to stop attackers from deriving private keys from public keys and forging transaction authorization.
The upgrade is aimed primarily at Zcash’s transparent transaction system. Transparent transactions expose addresses and transaction amounts, while shielded transactions conceal the sender, recipient, and amount.
About 70% of issued ZEC is still in the transparent pool
Data cited in the update shows that, as of Thursday, about 11.96 million ZEC were stored in the transparent address pool. That accounts for roughly 70% of the 16.98 million ZEC that have been issued.
That exposure is why the transparent address model is a key focus of the post-quantum signature effort.
Zakura releases a PIR-based balance query tool
Zakura also introduced a wallet balance query tool built on private information retrieval, or PIR. The tool lets users check address balances without exposing to the server the list of addresses being queried.
An experimental version is already available through the "Private queries" setting in the Zcash wallet Vizor.
Quantum risk warnings have surfaced before
Earlier, Ethereum researcher Justin Drake warned that AI-assisted attacks could accelerate the risk of breaking existing cryptographic systems. He also advised coin holders to prepare for an extreme-case "Bunker Mode."
So far, though, no practical quantum attack against the keys of major crypto wallets has been confirmed.