Overview
- StarkWare has confirmed the successful mining of the inaugural quantum-safe Bitcoin transaction on the Bitcoin mainnet.
- This process employs hash-based security mechanisms while keeping Bitcoin’s consensus protocols intact.
- For long-term security against quantum threats, StarkWare still advocates for a soft fork approach.
StarkWare, a blockchain infrastructure firm known for its layer-2 Ethereum solution Starknet, has announced that it has successfully mined the first quantum-safe Bitcoin transaction on the Bitcoin mainnet. This achievement aims to safeguard Bitcoin funds from potential quantum computing attacks without altering the consensus rules of the network.
In a recent blog post, StarkWare detailed that this pioneering transaction utilized a method known as Quantum-Safe Bitcoin (QSB), which was developed by researcher Avihu Levy. Levy had previously shared his findings in April, and StarkWare engineer Tomer Giladi later assisted in transforming this concept into a functional transaction on the mainnet.
“A quantum-safe transaction was mined on the Bitcoin mainnet today that holds up against an adversary running a working quantum computer,” StarkWare stated. “Bitcoin holders now have a way to move coins into storage a quantum computer cannot open.”
Currently, Bitcoin relies on elliptic-curve cryptography for transaction security, which could potentially be compromised by a powerful quantum computer employing Shor’s algorithm. To mitigate this risk, the network may eventually need either a hard fork, which would introduce incompatible rules and could potentially split the network, or a soft fork, which would allow for new rules while maintaining compatibility with older nodes.
StarkWare emphasized that while a soft fork is the preferred long-term strategy, QSB serves as an immediate protection method for individual assets without the need for a network-wide upgrade.
“I still want Bitcoin to choose to do a soft fork and I expect we will get one,” stated StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson. “What today’s successful transaction offers Bitcoin is a reassurance that holdings can be protected before that happens.”
This topic is gaining traction as experts evaluate which Bitcoin assets may be particularly vulnerable to future quantum computing threats. In June, the quantum advisory council at Coinbase estimated that approximately 7 million Bitcoins could be at risk due to exposed public keys and the reuse of addresses.
The Quantum-Safe Bitcoin method introduces an additional, quantum-resistant layer of security based on hash functions instead of elliptic curves. It employs a technique known as “signature grinding,” which allows for off-chain computational work to generate a transaction hash that Bitcoin accepts as a valid signature.
Although StarkWare made it clear that QSB does not render Bitcoin entirely quantum-safe, it does provide protection for specific transactions through hash-based security. However, it cannot safeguard addresses with already compromised public keys and currently requires transactions to be submitted directly to miners.
“This amazing feat should not be viewed as a message saying ‘Bitcoin is prepared for the quantum threat.’ Far from it,” Ben-Sasson remarked on X. “I hope whatever attention this brilliant work gets will also help folks hear loud and clear our message: Huston, we've got a problem, and the way to fix it should be to get serious about serious soft forks for [Bitcoin],” he added. “That's how catastrophe can be avoided, and we still have time.”