Mow Warns Against Rushing Post-Quantum Cryptography Upgrade on Bitcoin

Bitcoin developer and JAN3 CEO Samson Mow is cautioning against rushing to adopt post-quantum (PQ) cryptography. He argues that an overly hasty transition could expose the network to more immediate risks than the quantum threat it's meant to address.

Mow points out that a recent study by Anthropic found new attacks against weakened cryptographic algorithms, including one targeting HAWK, a lattice-based post-quantum signature scheme. He warns that replacing Bitcoin's current ECDSA and Schnorr signature schemes with PQ alternatives too early could inadvertently weaken the network against conventional computers.

Mow suggests that Bitcoin should only migrate to PQ signatures when quantum computers actually pose a practical threat. 'The time to change to PQ signatures is when there's a clear threat (QCs exist), not before,' he explained. Mow also praised ongoing research by Blockstream cryptographers, who have found that hash-based schemes have a smaller mathematical attack surface than lattice-based alternatives like HAWK.

Some in the community are responding to these findings by advocating for 'crypto-agility', which refers to the ability to replace cryptographic algorithms without redesigning entire systems. Ledger Chief Technology Officer Charles Guillemet said the research shows how rapidly artificial intelligence is changing cybersecurity and may reshape cryptography as well.