StarkWare Tests First Quantum-Resistant Bitcoin Transaction on Mainnet

A team at StarkWare has successfully tested an experimental quantum-resistant Bitcoin transaction on the mainnet. The transaction, which spent a 10,000-satoshi output protected by Levy's Quantum Safe Bitcoin (QSB) scheme, was confirmed in block 964,199.

The test demonstrates that Bitcoin's existing consensus rules can accommodate one form of quantum-resistant spending without requiring a protocol change. However, the transaction was classified as nonstandard under Bitcoin Core's default relay policies and required submission through MARA's Slipstream service to be propagated.

StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson noted that while QSB is not a replacement for protocol-level protections, it provides a safety net until such measures are developed. The cost of generating the transaction was estimated to be around $150 to $200, taking hours of computation.