Zcash developers aim for quantum-resistant payments by January after the "bunker mode" scare

The quantum scare is starting to produce code. Developers working on Zcash said they are aiming for January to add new opcodes that would let the network check hash-based signatures, a kind of signature designed to hold up against quantum computers, CoinDesk reported on Friday. The plan was laid out in an engineering post by Roman Akhtariev for Zakura, software used to run and validate the Zcash network. There is no confirmed activation date yet.

The first step covers transparent payments, the non-private kind, which hold about 70% of the roughly 16.98 million ZEC issued so far. Shielded, private payments will need separate safeguards.

The push follows Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake's warning this week that, in a worst case, AI could weaken wallet cryptography "in months, not years," and his call for a "bunker mode." No practical attack on wallet keys has been demonstrated. ZEC closed Thursday near $1,185, about 11% lower over the week, after Drake's post spread.

Zakura also released an experimental private lookup tool that lets wallets check balances without revealing their addresses to a server.

What to watch: an activation date for the new opcodes, and a plan for shielded payments.