Zcash software developer Zakura has introduced a proposed wallet modification designed to allocate a distinct viewing key to every individual ZEC swap conducted via NEAR Intents. This initiative mitigates the risk that advanced quantum computers might one day compromise historical payments via Zcash addresses retained on a public ledger. Currently, the capability is still being built and lacks an official release date.
Why NEAR Intents Swaps Raise Privacy Concerns
Through NEAR Intents, users can trade tokens across different blockchains. When someone trades shielded ZEC for USDC, the protocol logs a Zcash refund address onto NEAR’s open blockchain. This address stays visible even if the transaction goes through successfully and no refund is ever triggered. A similar exposure happens during swaps into ZEC, as the system logs the recipient’s address publicly.
Although Zcash wallets can produce multiple shielded addresses, addresses within a single account typically share an incoming viewing key. This key allows a wallet to detect and scan inbound transactions, tracking details such as transaction amounts and private memos. In a technical write-up, developer Adam Tucker cautioned that a future malicious actor could leverage one exposed address to link transactions across the entire account.
Executing this threat demands a quantum computer capable of extracting the key from public address information. No such device has been publicly proven to exist to date. Furthermore, possessing solely a viewing key does not grant authorization to transfer ZEC funds.
Separate Keys Would Keep Swap Histories Apart
The architecture proposed by Zakura generates a new incoming viewing key for each specific transaction while leaving the primary spending key of the account untouched. Consequently, an entity that successfully extracted the viewing key for a single exchange would only obtain visibility over transactions tied directly to that specific address, the proposal explains.
The wallet would derive each key deterministically from current account parameters and a sequential swap index. It would also retain an encrypted record specifying the corresponding refund address. This design ensures users can retrieve sent-back ZEC without needing to manage a distinct account for every single exchange.
The developers dismissed the option of utilizing separate accounts because it introduces friction for hardware wallet users. Certain hardware devices limit which accounts are authorized to sign transactions, whereas others demand extra verification steps to spend funds across multiple accounts. Zakura’s strategy seeks to bypass these restrictions.
Private Searches Could Simplify Wallet Recovery
Employing a unique key per swap creates a secondary hurdle. If a wallet must be restored from a backup, it could be forced to scan years of blockchain history using hundreds of individual keys, significantly slowing down the recovery of balances.
To counter this, Zakura suggests implementing private information retrieval—a technique allowing a wallet to query a remote database without revealing to the operator which precise address it is inspecting. The wallet would pull down address filters, pinpoint potential hits, and fetch the necessary transaction data confidentially.
Regarding inbound ZEC swaps, the wallet would audit the generated addresses sequentially. Scanning would halt upon encountering 30 consecutive addresses that NEAR had neither utilized nor registered in any swap order. According to the team, this mechanism would additionally stop abandoned swap quotes from prompting address reuse.
Zcash Quantum Protections Have No Confirmed Launch Date
This blueprint constitutes a piece of broader efforts aimed at reinforcing Zcash’s.
upcoming security framework. Earlier discussions regarding Zcash’s January quantum roadmap pointed to January 2027 as the target window for implementing fresh signature instructions. Those particular instructions focus on safeguarding spending transactions, as opposed to hiding the history of shielded payments.
In addition, the Ironwood network upgrade rolled out in July brought other protocol defenses. Demand for cross-chain functionality is also reflected in past Aurora Intents swaps, which handled upwards of $19 million during the zkSNARKS auction held in September.
Zakura notes that software wallets utilizing its libraries, such as Vizor, could potentially integrate the proposed functionality “in the coming weeks.” Meanwhile, hardware wallet compatibility relies on upcoming firmware updates. Neither timeframe constitutes a finalized launch schedule.
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