Zcash developers plan a fix to keep ZEC swaps private from future quantum computers
Zcash developers are proposing a new privacy fix to protect ZEC swaps from potential future quantum computing threats. The update involves assigning unique private keys to individual swaps to prevent attackers from linking payment histories via shared viewing keys.
Why it matters
As quantum computing advances, current cryptographic standards face obsolescence; this proactive measure highlights the industry's struggle to secure privacy-focused assets against future decryption capabilities.
Fortunately, the team behind Zakura, a newer version of the software that runs the Zcash network, is taking steps to address that. In a new engineering post , it proposed giving every ZEC swap made through NEAR Intents its own private key. The change would close a gap that a future quantum computer could use to piece together a user’s payment history.
NEAR Intents is a service that lets users swap tokens across different blockchains. When someone swaps private ZEC for USDC through it, the service posts one of their private Zcash addresses on NEAR’s public chain, so it knows where to send back any unused ZEC. That address goes up as soon as the deposit lands and stays there even if the swap goes through and no refund is ever needed.
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