Quantum Alliance launches to set post-quantum standards for blockchains

[Ivory Molly]

A group of blockchain organisations has launched the Quantum Alliance, an open standards body that aims to define what post quantum ready means for blockchains, wallets and infrastructure. The Quantum Insider's report is based on the founders' announcement. It is modelled on the IETF, the body that sets many internet standards

Founders come from organisations including Quantus, Intmax, Keystone, Midnight Foundation, Postquant Labs, Abelian and Hacken. An important design choice is that company size and token holdings carry no voting weight. That should help stop large players from steering the standards in their own interest

Four working groups will cover chain migration, including what to do about exposed keys and lost coins, post quantum zero knowledge proofs, wallet security and compatibility across chains. The alliance will also set test criteria for claims of quantum resistance, which could help users judge marketing statements

The article puts the stakes in context. It says about $2.9 trillion of crypto assets rely on classical signatures, and that 6.04 million bitcoin, around 30 percent of the supply, are in addresses whose public keys are already exposed. It cites a Google Quantum AI estimate from March that fewer than 500,000 physical qubits could break elliptic curve cryptography. No current machine is anywhere near that

Migrating a blockchain to new cryptography is a huge coordination problem, so a neutral standards body is a sensible step. The announcement has a few rough edges, including a mismatch between nine organisations and ten named founders. But getting standards in place well before quantum computers arrive is exactly the right approach

Can blockchains migrate to post quantum cryptography in time? And what should happen to old coins whose owners never move them?

Quantum Alliance Launches to Set Post-Quantum Standards for Blockchainsthequantuminsider.com

[CMPunk_Fan]

Five hundred thousand qubits is still a long way from today's machines. Migration takes years, though, so starting now is wise

Waiting until the threat is real would be far too late. Estimates have been falling steadily, though

Each new paper seems to cut the number again. That trend is the real concern

[FinnHalliday]

Test criteria for quantum resistance claims would be very useful. Lots of projects call themselves quantum safe with little evidence. Clear standards would separate real work from marketing. Auditors could use the criteria too, which would help investors

Wallet makers would benefit from clear targets as well. Without standards, every project can claim to be safe. Clear tests would cut through that noise

[AgentSmith95]

No voting weight for size or token holdings is a smart rule. Standards bodies dominated by the biggest players tend to serve those players

This setup should be fairer. Open processes also make it harder for any single company to be blamed for decisions