AmericanFortress has proposed a new scheme to protect dormant Bitcoin wallets from quantum threats without fund migration.
AmericanFortress has launched a new post-quantum signature scheme designed to protect existing cryptocurrency assets, including dormant wallets from the Satoshi era that contain 1.1 million BTC. This initiative aims to safeguard these assets without necessitating a large-scale migration of funds.
The proposed solution involves a backward-compatible soft fork and utilizes zero-knowledge proofs. This mechanism is intended to secure older Bitcoin addresses, particularly BIP-32 addresses associated with Bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
Once these coins are locked, AmericanFortress suggests that decisions regarding their future management could be made through network governance. Michal Pospieszalski, the company's head, indicated potential options such as transferring, burning, or redistributing the funds.
The urgency of this proposal has been amplified by recent findings from Google Quantum AI, which highlighted that many cryptocurrencies still rely on ECDLP-256. This is particularly relevant for secp256k1, the elliptic curve used by Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Google emphasized that adopting post-quantum cryptography is a viable strategy for ensuring the long-term security of blockchain systems. In light of this, the Bitcoin community is actively exploring various protective measures, including BIP-360, which introduces a new type of Pay-to-Merkle-Root outputs capable of resisting quantum attacks.
Unlike similar initiatives, AmericanFortress's approach focuses specifically on existing dormant wallets rather than creating new addresses, aiming to protect millions of coins while allowing owners to retain control without needing to transfer their holdings.
In a related development, AmericanFortress secured $8 million in funding in May to advance quantum-resistant blockchain infrastructure. Additionally, BNB Chain developers recently disclosed the results of their tests on the network's shift to post-quantum cryptography, which confirmed theoretical readiness but also revealed a notable decline in performance.
