The goal of a new proposal is to protect Bitcoin transactions from quantum attacks by not changing the rules that govern the entire network. As concerns over cryptographic security grow, this has gained attention.
Avihu Lévy, of StarkWare, published a piece on April 9th. outlined “Quantum-Safe Bitcoin Transactions Without Softforks,” Quantum Safe Bitcoin or QSB is the name of a scheme. It is designed to prevent transactions being tampered with. threats While remaining compatible with Bitcoin’s existing protocol, quantum computers can pose serious threats.
This proposal addresses a vulnerability that is known in Bitcoin’s design. Standard transactions use ECDSA over secp256k1. curve. Theoretically, an attacker could break the system using a quantum computer that runs Shor’s algorithm by solving discrete Logarithms.
QSB is a scheme that replaces the elliptic curvature security by hash based assumptions. This scheme does not rely on ECDSA but instead uses it to verify the system while shifting security from ECDSA pre-images. This approach borrows from earlier work known as Binohash. This embeds one time signature schemes in Bitcoin Script.
QSB has a core that is at the heart of its operation. “hash-to-signature” puzzle. Hashing a public key derived from a transaction using RIPEMD 160 and treating the output as a possible ECDSA signature is what this system does. A proof-of work condition is created when only a fraction of randomly generated hashes comply with the formatting requirements for valid signatures. This paper calculates that the chances of success are about one out of 70.4 trillion.
Bitcoin is resistant to Quantum Attacks
Shor’s algorithm cannot solve the puzzle because it relies on its hashing properties and not elliptic curvature hardness. Grover’s algorithm would only give a quadratic increase in speed to a quantum attacker, leaving significant security margins. According to a Shor model, the paper calculates a pre-image resistence of 118 bits per second.
This construction adheres to Bitcoin’s current scripting restrictions, such as the 201-opcode limit and maximum script size 10,000 bytes. The scripts are based on legacy structures, and there is no need to change the consensus or fork the protocol. This may be appealing to developers who fear fragmentation.
This proposal states that the process of a transaction unfolds over three distinct stages. First of all, the proposal states that a transaction takes place in three phases. “pinning” The phase looks for the parameters in a transaction which produce an output that is valid from a hashing perspective to signatory, binding it to a certain structure. Two digest rounds are then used to pick subsets embedded signatures and generate proofs that can be tied to the transaction’s hash. Finaly, all preimages are assembled along with the verification data.
There are tradeoffs in the design. QSB transactions are above the standard relay policy limit, so they will not be propagated across the network in default settings. They would instead need to be submitted directly to the miners via services like Slipstream. They also take up a large amount of space and computing resources.
The cost to generate a valid transaction is still within reach despite these limitations. According to the paper, total computing costs range between $75 and $125 using cloud GPUs. The workload is scaled across parallel hardware. Initial testing shows that puzzles can be solved after several hours of using multiple GPUs.
Project is still incomplete. Although the script and paper generation tools have been completed, the full pipeline including transaction assembly and broadcast has not yet been shown on-chain.
This proposal, however, adds to the growing research on how Bitcoin might adapt to an increasingly globalized world. future with quantum computing. QSB, by avoiding changes to protocol, presents a path that relies more on the existing rules than on consensus upgrades. This could influence future debates about long-term security of networks.
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Source: bitcoinmagazine.com
