The developers of Zcash have set a goal of adding support for quantum-attack-resistant payments to the network by January 2027, as concerns grow about future attacks on cryptocurrency wallets.
Engineer Roman Akhtaryev announced the timelines in a technical update, explaining that developers intend to introduce new instructions allowing Zcash to verify hash-based signatures. The proposal focuses on transparent transactions, which account for roughly 70% of the cryptocurrency in circulation. However, the January goal does not set a confirmed date for activating the changes on the network.
The planned upgrade provides for the introduction of new signature verification instructions designed to protect Zcash's transparent transactions from potential future advances in quantum computing.
Currently, Zcash's transparent payments use elliptic curve cryptography to verify that whoever spends the coins controls the corresponding private key. The system is based on mathematical problems that ordinary computers are practically unable to solve using known methods.
Researchers warn that sufficiently powerful quantum computers could eventually weaken this protection, potentially allowing attackers to recover private keys from exposed public keys.
The proposed instructions would allow hash-based signatures, which rest on different mathematical assumptions, to be used for payments. Developers are considering constructions such as Winternitz one-time signatures, commonly referred to as WOTS.
In the technical report, Akhtaryev wrote:
"Our team plans to add post-quantum signature codes to Zcash in January".
The timelines remain development targets. No confirmed mainnet activation, final network upgrade specification, or mandatory migration schedule for the January proposal has been announced yet.
Zakura is an alternative implementation of Zcash's full-node architecture, developed by Valar Group and Project Tachyon. Its initial release took place in July 2026, offering improved synchronization performance and support for the network upgrade up to Ironwood.
Even though developers are preparing quantum-attack-resistant payment instructions, Zcash is not yet fully protected from them. Existing shielded transaction systems still depend on cryptographic components that will require further changes.
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