Bitcoin Secures First Quantum-Resistant Transaction on Mainnet

Bitcoin has received its first quantum-resistant transaction on mainnet without changing any consensus rules. The breakthrough was achieved through MARA's private Slipstream mempool using a method called Quantum Safe Bitcoin, developed by StarkWare's Avihu Levy.

The problem of quantum attacks on Bitcoin lies in the fact that when someone spends funds, their wallet's public key is exposed for roughly ten minutes, creating a vulnerability. Levy built Quantum Safe Bitcoin to close this window without modifying consensus rules.

The scheme modifies Binohash, a technique from BitVM creator Robin Linus, wrapping each transaction in a proof-of-work puzzle that relies on hash functions resistant to quantum attacks rather than the signature itself. This approach has an estimated extra cost of a few hundred dollars in GPU time and requires a non-standard transaction format.

MARA Foundation head Isabel Foxen Duke framed the mining of the transaction as a stopgap, emphasizing that private mempools are not a long-term solution for Bitcoin quantum resistance. She noted that MARA is willing to continue supporting Slipstream for break-glass cases while the network works towards a consensus-level change.