Bitcoin embraces post quantum future
Despite considerable skepticism among Bitcoiners about how close the quantum threat to Bitcoin is, two stories this week highlighted the progress being made toward upgrading the blockchain and protecting outputs from attack.
StarkWare researcher Avihu Levy tested an experimental quantum-resistant transaction on the Bitcoin mainnet that protects it during the brief period when public keys are exposed in the mempool.
Onchain data shows that StarkWSare spent a 10,000-satoshi output protected by Levy’s Quantum Safe Bitcoin (QSB) scheme which combines hash-based one-time signatures with computational searches that bind an authorization to a specific transaction. It’s more of a last resort than a practical measure, as each transaction takes hours and costs $150 to $200.
On August 27, Blockstream researchers published a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal to upgrade Bitcoin with the SHRINCS signature scheme….
