Cake Wallet Adds Zcash With Shielded Transactions by Default

Cake Wallet Adds Zcash and NEAR Intents for Privacy and Swaps

Cake also introduces Near Intents

January 15, 2026 — Cake Wallet, a popular privacy-focused crypto wallet, today announced the addition of Zcash (ZEC), with shielded transactions by default. 

Zcash is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that gives you the option to make transactions private using something called "shielded addresses, which conceals sender, receiver, and transaction amounts. While many cryptocurrencies expose details publicly by default, Zcash offers users the ability to transact privately.

Cake Wallet enabled shielding by default, so while users can send funds to transparent addresses, all transactions will originate from a shielded source. This ensures that users’ balance and transaction history remains private, while being compatible with the broader Zcash ecosystem. 

“Privacy should not be an advanced setting,” said Vikrant Sharma, Founder and CEO of Cake Labs, creators of Cake Wallet. “By enforcing shielded transactions by default, we’re making strong privacy protections the standard experience, not an optional extra.”

The addition of Zcash comes amid repeated community requests and renewed interest in privacy-focused cryptocurrencies. In 2025, Zcash recorded one of the strongest performances among large-cap privacy assets. 

“The attention on privacy coins will come and go, but the underlying demand is clearly growing,” said Seth For Privacy, COO of Cake Labs. “What the recent cycle showed is that users increasingly care about who can see their financial activity, and that demand isn’t going away in 2026 or beyond.”

Cake Wallet now supports a growing suite of privacy-oriented tools, including Monero, Bitcoin Silent Payments and PayJoin v2, Litecoin MWEB, and now shielded Zcash. Monero remains a core part of Cake Wallet’s identity, with a dedicated Monero-only app available at monero.com.

In addition to Zcash, Cake Wallet v5.7 introduces support for NEAR Intents and makes cross-chain swaps simpler, more decentralized, and easier to trust. Instead of relying on a single route or intermediary, NEAR Intents let multiple independent market makers compete to fulfill each swap, with the best option selected automatically.

These updates expand Cake Wallet’s self-custodial ecosystem, giving users greater access to privacy-preserving currencies while maintaining full control over their funds.

About Cake Wallet

Cake Wallet is an open-source, self-custodial wallet that aims to simplify crypto for everyone. It supports major cryptocurrencies and stablecoins and provides seamless swaps, self-custody, and advanced privacy features, including Silent Payments and Tor integration.