Naoris Launches Post-Quantum Blockchain Like Bitcoin, Ethereum Devs Scramble to Face Threat

“Quantum apocalypse” – or “Q-day”—when quantum computers can disrupt modern cryptography, it has gone from theory to a race and time for blockchain companies. But now there are blockchain networks launching what they say is preparing for the inevitable.

On Thursday, Naoris Protocol launched its mainnet, describing a network like blockchain built with post-quantum cryptography from scratch, using an algorithm approved by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The project joins a growing list of efforts to assess how blockchains can be used if quantum computers eventually overcome the cryptographic systems that most blockchains rely on today.

Many blockchains – plus Bitcoin and Ethereum-secure security with public secret signatures, such as the elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA). These systems rely on mathematical problems that traditional computers cannot solve. Researchers have warned, however, that a powerful enough computer could break the security system using Shor’s algorithm, allowing attackers to extract private keys from public keys and control wallets.

Nathaniel Szerezla, Naoris Protocol’s head of growth, said the project deliberately chose to use cutting-edge technology rather than traditional algorithm research.

“Many blockchain projects that test post-quantum signatures treat ‘Dilithium’ and ‘ML-DSA’ as interchangeable labels,” Szerezla said. Decrypt. “Naoris take them as a difficult boundary.”

ML-DSA is the standard version of the CRYSTALS-Dilithium algorithm approved by NIST as part of post-quantum cryptography. program. As Szerezla explained, CRYSTALS-Dilithium and ML-DSA-87 are not two different things. ML-DSA is the NIST standard CRYSTALS-Dilithium, published as FIPS 204 in August 2024.

Naoris’ announcement comes as blockchain developers debate how to transition to quantum-resistant cryptography, since doing so would require demand. change to existing networks. In February, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has been explained the process of changing several secret parts of the protocol, including BLS and ECDSA signatures, and other methods designed to resist quantum attacks.

Bitcoin developers are exploring similar ideas and their supporters are moving forward The price of BIP360a proposal that aims to reduce the exposure of public keys in transactions by introducing a new type of exit called Pay-to-Merkle-Root. The design prevents a technique called key-path spending, which reveals public keys when funds are spent, and lays the groundwork for adding post-quantum signatures in future soft forks.

Because the blockchain transaction record is public and permanent, the cryptographic signatures attached to the transaction remain visible forever. If quantum computers reach a critical level, then attackers can analyze past transactions to recover private keys from visible signals.

Szerezla said Naoris tries to mitigate this risk by forcing exchanges with old signatures as soon as an account receives a post-quantum key.

“Once an account has been established by PQC, the system promotes seamless change,” he said. “The processor checks all incoming transactions. If the sender’s address has a PQC binding in the registry, the transaction must have a valid ML-DSA signature.”

ECDSA-only trading from a bonded account is rejected by another bug that tells users that a PQC signature is required for a bonded account, he said.

The Naoris network is currently working with authorized providers as the project expands its participation. Before launching the mainnet, Naoris said his test network processed more than 106 million recent transactions and identified more than 603 million vulnerabilities. Decrypt they have not independently verified these figures.

Because Naoris can no longer protect assets already recorded on blockchains that rely on historical records, Szerezla said users will need to transfer assets on the Naoris network to protect them.

“Goods sent to Naoris are more secure, while goods left on old chains are still at risk,” he said. “As older users migrate, their window shrinks.”