AmericanFortress has released a preprint detailing ZKPoSP, a cryptographic scheme designed to protect hierarchical deterministic wallets from potential quantum attacks without changing their addresses.
The creators of ZKPoSP claim it allows for the preservation of existing address formats while substituting traditional signatures with non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs (NIZK).
NIZK is a cryptographic technique where one party can demonstrate knowledge of specific information without revealing the information itself and without engaging in multiple exchanges with the verifier.
Additionally, AmericanFortress introduced QBIP32, which is engineered to generate a signing scalar, a separate quantum-resistant proof, and a chain code within a single function call. The authors assert that QBIP32 can be applied to various simple-order elliptic curves, including secp256k1 and Ed25519.
The preprint describes the post-quantum security of the scheme as theoretical. It relies on the resilience of hash functions and NIZK proofs against quantum adversaries. However, for the scheme to function within a specific network, nodes need to support the verification of such proofs instead of standard signatures, which is not currently the case for Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana.
AmericanFortress has implemented these constructs using Rust and RISC Zero. According to the authors, generating a proof of signature takes approximately 12–13 seconds, while verification requires about 9–10 milliseconds.
In a March report, Galaxy stated that Project Eleven estimates around 7 million BTC, valued at approximately $470 billion at the time, as potentially vulnerable due to exposed public keys on-chain.
On July 28, Freedom Factory launched the PQ1 hardware wallet for Ethereum and EVM-compatible networks, announcing the use of SPHINCS+C10 and ERC-4337 smart accounts in their press release.
On July 23, Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, BlackRock, Block, Blockstream, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets, Galaxy, and Strategy announced the formation of the Bitcoin Security Consortium, pledging a collective $15 million over three years to developers and researchers focused on the long-term security of Bitcoin, including post-quantum cryptography.
On July 21, Galaxy initiated a similar program to prepare Bitcoin for potential threats from quantum computing, with up to $5 million in grants for developers and researchers.
Earlier, the Stellar Development Foundation introduced its document outlining a quantum preparedness plan, and the Algorand Foundation published a roadmap for post-quantum security aiming for broad quantum resilience by 2027. Nicolas Consigny, project leader at the Ethereum Foundation, proposed a solution called SPHINCS- to secure wallets without necessitating a hard fork.
It is noteworthy that in May, AmericanFortress presented a scheme for post-quantum signatures aimed at protecting existing crypto assets, including dormant wallets from the Satoshi era holding 1.1 million BTC. The latest publication emphasizes hierarchical deterministic wallets and positions ZKPoSP/QBIP32 as a universal mechanism applicable to various curves and networks.