# Zcash (ZEC) Quantum Readiness Report

> Zcash has a QRI score of 19/100 and is assessed at Stage 2 (Mitigation / Development) with medium evidence confidence.

Evaluation date: 2026-06-11. Review status: draft. Evaluated scope: Native asset (ZEC) — transparent, Sprout, Sapling, and Orchard pools; consensus; P2P; shielded protocol layers.

Zcash has conducted one of the most thorough quantum risk assessments in the blockchain ecosystem. The protocol specification, ZIP 2005 (Orchard Quantum Recoverability), and contributor analyses from Sean Bowe and others provide a detailed cryptographic inventory explicitly identifying all quantum-vulnerable components: spend authorization (ECC-only across all address types), Halo 2 proof soundness (Pasta curve discrete-log assumptions), note encryption (elliptic-curve ECDH), and note commitments (not post-quantum binding). ZIP 2005 proposes a quantum recoverability mechanism for Orchard notes but remains in Proposed/Draft status with code PRs behind an unstable feature flag; it is not activated on mainnet and does not make the protocol quantum-secure today. An aggressive roadmap announced at Consensus Miami (May 2026) targets quantum-recoverable wallets by mid-2026 and full post-quantum status by late 2027 through Project Tachyon. However, as of June 11, 2026, zero production post-quantum or hybrid-PQC protection is live on mainnet. All spend authorization across all address types remains entirely ECC-based and quantum-vulnerable. The transparent pool (~69% of circulating supply, ~11.5M ZEC) uses secp256k1 with fully exposed or derivable public keys and no announced migration plan. Shielded pools (~31%, ~5.1M ZEC) benefit from quantum-resistant nullifiers for transaction-graph privacy but remain ECC-dependent for asset ownership and proof soundness. Score: 19/100 (Stage 2: Mitigation/Development).

## Core resources

- [Zcash QRI report](https://qrindex.org/projects/zcash/): Human-readable assessment with score, stage, evidence, blockers, risks, and assurance notes.
- [Zcash structured report data](https://qrindex.org/projects/zcash/report.json): Complete report as JSON for deterministic machine processing.
- [QRI methodology](https://qrindex.org/methodology/): Scoring model, evidence handling, readiness stages, confidence, assurance, and report status.
- [All QRI project reports](https://qrindex.org/llms.txt): Score-ranked index of every published project assessment.
- [Zcash official website](https://z.cash): Project-maintained website.
- [Zcash source repository 1](https://github.com/zcash/zcash): Project source code referenced by QRI.
- [Zcash source repository 2](https://github.com/zcash/zips): Project source code referenced by QRI.
- [Zcash source repository 3](https://github.com/zcash/librustzcash): Project source code referenced by QRI.



## Evidence sources

- [Evidence source 1](<https://zips.z.cash/protocol/protocol.pdf>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 2](<https://zips.z.cash/zip-2005>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 3](<https://seanbowe.com/blog/zcash-and-quantum-computers/>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 4](<https://github.com/zcash/zips/issues/1134>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 5](<https://github.com/zcash/zips/blob/main/zips/zip-0032.rst>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 6](<https://ethnews.com/zcash-is-building-quantum-recovery-into-its-shielded-protocol/>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 7](<https://zechub.substack.com/p/zcash-shielded-news-vol18-128>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 8](<https://zkp.baby/>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 9](<https://github.com/tachyon-zcash/tachyon>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 10](<https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2026/05/08/zcash-to-roll-out-quantum-recoverable-wallets-within-a-month-go-quantum-proof-by-2027>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 11](<https://zfnd.org/zebra-4-5-3-and-5-0-0-emergency-soft-fork-and-nu6-2-activation/>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 12](<https://github.com/zcash/zcash/releases/tag/v6.20.0>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 13](<https://www.coindesk.com/research/encryption-supremacy-zcash-and-privacy-in-the-age-of-scale>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 14](<https://zfnd.org/zebra-nu6-1-audit/>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 15](<https://github.com/zcash/zcash>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 16](<https://github.com/zcash/zips>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 17](<https://github.com/zcash/librustzcash>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.
- [Evidence source 18](<https://messari.io/report/zcash-building-encrypted-money-at-planetary-scale>): Public source cited by the Zcash QRI assessment.