Zcash Developers Plan Per-Swap Privacy Fix to Address Future Quantum Computing Threats
Developers behind Zakura, a newer implementation of the Zcash network software, are proposing a change that would give every ZEC swap conducted through NEAR Intents its own viewing key. The design aims to prevent a future quantum computer from using a publicly exposed Zcash address to uncover a user's broader payment history.
The proposed update addresses a privacy risk involving NEAR Intents, a service that enables token swaps across different blockchains. When users exchange shielded ZEC for USDC through the service, a Zcash address is published on NEAR's public blockchain so the service can return any unused ZEC. The address remains visible even when the swap completes without requiring a refund.
Why Zcash Addresses Could Create a Privacy Risk
Under current computing capabilities, the published address does not readily expose the information needed to recover its associated cryptographic key. Zcash addresses use public-key cryptography based on elliptic-curve mathematics, while a wallet's viewing key allows it to identify incoming payments.
However, a sufficiently powerful quantum computer running Shor's algorithm could theoretically reverse the mathematical process and recover a key from publicly available cryptographic information. Shor's algorithm was published in 1994 and describes a method for solving mathematical problems that underpin widely used public-key cryptography.
The concern extends beyond Zcash. Bitcoin addresses associated with older transactions can expose public keys onchain, creating a potential target for future quantum attacks. Google said last week that its Willow quantum chip had produced near-perfect versions of one component that such an attack would require. The development represents progress toward the underlying technology, but it does not establish that a quantum computer capable of breaking these systems already exists.
Machines powerful enough to carry out such attacks are still considered years away, and there is no firm timeline for when they might become available. Nevertheless, developers across the cryptocurrency industry are working on ways to reduce potential vulnerabilities before that capability emerges.
How the Proposed Per-Swap Key System Would Work
Zcash has a particular privacy consideration because a wallet can generate multiple addresses that appear unrelated while those addresses normally share a viewing key. If an attacker recovered that key from one exposed address, the attacker could potentially connect the wallet's incoming payments and inspect their amounts and associated private notes, also known as memos.
The proposed Zakura approach would separate viewing access for each swap. Rather than allowing every swap address to expose information linked to the same viewing key, each transaction would receive its own viewing key. The wallet's main spending key would remain with the user.
This distinction matters because viewing and spending permissions serve different purposes. Recovering a viewing key could expose payment information, but it would not by itself provide the separate key required to spend the funds.
Under the proposed design, someone who eventually cracked the viewing key associated with a refund address published on NEAR would be limited to information connected to that particular swap, rather than gaining visibility into every payment received by the wallet.
Preparing Crypto Privacy for Future Quantum Computers
The proposal reflects a broader challenge for blockchain developers: protecting transaction privacy and cryptographic security against potential advances in quantum computing. While the technology needed to carry out these attacks remains unavailable, publicly exposed cryptographic information could become more consequential if future machines can solve problems that conventional computers cannot feasibly reverse.
Zakura's planned change focuses on limiting the amount of Zcash payment history that could be exposed through an individual swap address. The supplied engineering report describes the per-swap key approach and begins to discuss an additional practical design consideration, but does not provide further details about that issue in the available text.
source: coindesk
Writer: Ethan Collins
Crypto Journalist
Ethan Collins reports on developments across the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector. His work covers market movements, protocol updates, regulatory changes, and emerging trends in digital assets.
He focuses on presenting complex topics in a clear and accessible manner for a broad readership.
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