Starkware Completes First Quantum-Safe Transaction on Bitcoin Mainnet

Starkware, the company behind the Ethereum layer-2 network Starknet, has successfully completed the first experimental quantum-safe transaction on the Bitcoin mainnet.

The method used is called Quantum-Safe Bitcoin (QSB), which adds a second, quantum-resistant lock based on hash functions rather than elliptic curves. This makes it more difficult for a sufficiently powerful quantum computer to break the security of the transaction.

According to Starkware, the QSB method uses 'signature grinding', which performs computational work off-chain to find a transaction hash that Bitcoin will accept as a validly formatted signature.

The CEO of Starkware, Eli Ben-Sasson, emphasized that while this achievement is significant, it does not mean that Bitcoin is prepared for the quantum threat. He believes that a soft fork is still the preferred long-term solution to protect the network from future quantum attacks.