Zcash to launch quantum-secure wallets in 30 days, achieve full post-quantum readiness by 2027
Bitcoin no longer functions as the cypherpunk-level currency it was originally designed to be, according to Zcash co-founder Zooko Wilcox.
What to know:
— Zcash intends to deploy quantum-recoverable wallets within a month and aims to achieve complete post-quantum compatibility within 12 to 18 months, alongside a scaling initiative targeting Visa- and Mastercard-level transaction throughput.
— This strategic roadmap coincides with a 110% surge in ZEC over the past 30 days, driven by a significant investment from Multicoin Capital and growing investor interest in privacy-centric cryptocurrencies.
— Adoption is being accelerated by cross-chain swaps into shielded ZEC via Near Intents and other network upgrades, with the shielded pool now representing approximately 30% of circulating ZEC, while proposals to reduce block times and introduce token-holder voting are under discussion.
Zcash will introduce quantum-recoverable wallets within a month and achieve full post-quantum status within 12 to 18 months, Zcash Open Development Lab founder and CEO Josh Swihart told a Consensus Miami audience on Thursday during a session moderated by Solana infrastructure firm Helius’s founder Mert Mumtaz.
A parallel scaling initiative aims to achieve MasterCard- and Visa-level throughput within a similar timeframe.
The roadmap announcement coincided with a ZEC rally that has pushed the token up more than 110% over the past 30 days, as prominent crypto fund Multicoin Capital revealed a substantial ZEC investment and the privacy narrative gained traction among investors, according to sentiment data.
Swihart argued that Bitcoin no longer serves as the cypherpunk-grade money it was intended to be. The asset functions effectively as an ETF wrapper and store of value, but as a peer-to-peer private payment system, it is fundamentally flawed, he said.
Transparent ledgers allow governments to seize visible assets, he contended, echoing the same wealth-visibility critique that Multicoin’s Tushar Jain highlighted this week when announcing the fund’s purchases.
User-side momentum is building through Electric Coin Company’s mobile wallet following an October integration with Near Intents that enables cross-chain swaps from assets like BTC, SOL, and USDC directly into shielded ZEC.
Near Intents allows users to specify their desired outcome, such as converting USDC to ZEC, while specialized routers manage the multi-step trade across different blockchains in the background.
Approximately $600 million to $700 million has flowed through this route since launch, primarily involving USD and USDC, Swihart noted. Near’s broader intent-based system has processed nearly $800 million in volume over the past 30 days alone, according to Near Protocol data, with Ethereum, Solana, and Zcash dominating the chain side.
A separate proposal to reduce Zcash’s target block time from 75 seconds to 25 seconds is under active discussion on the project’s community forum, with bridges to Solana and Hyperliquid already live, Mumtaz pointed out.
Token-holder voting via Zashi is also planned, Swihart said, serving less as formal governance and more as an opinion layer feeding the project’s existing rough-consensus model.
For traders, the clearest near-term test is whether quantum recoverability actually ships within Swihart’s stated month. The fail-safe is the shielded pool, which now sits at roughly 30% of circulating ZEC, an all-time high. If it keeps growing alongside price, the rally is being underwritten by adoption rather than speculation