Bitcoin Publishes Mined Transaction Using Quantum-Safe Method and Releases Signature Scheme Specification
Bitcoin's quantum-security work has taken two visible steps forward in recent days. StarkWare published a mined Bitcoin transaction built with its Quantum-Safe Bitcoin method, known as QSB. This method uses hash functions to protect coins from being accessed by a sufficiently capable quantum computer.
The first practical obstacle appeared before mining. StarkWare submitted the transaction through MARA's Slipstream service because public nodes generally decline to relay this script format. The search is also expensive, with cloud GPU costs estimated at $75 to $150 for documented setup.
SHRINCS, short for Shrunken SPHINCS, is a signature design aimed at Bitcoin's block-space limits and hardware-wallet constraints. The proposed public key is 48 bytes, while stateful signatures range from 548 to 4,619 bytes depending on the signing path.
Bitcoin holders have no action to take today, as there is no live upgrade or supported post-quantum address format. QSB requires research tooling and SHRINCS remains under technical review.