by Coinstrooper Crypto Articles
Quick Take
  • Fortunately, the impact of quantum computing is still years away.
  • “These are the mathematical foundations of many digital signature schemes, including those used in cryptocurrencies,” Vescovo said.
  • He elaborated that Bitcoin uses “ECDSA over secp256k1,” which is a signature scheme based on the elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem.
  • “Rootstock also uses ECDSA for user accounts, contracts, and bridge signers,” Vescovo said.

What Happened

How Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin

Nicolás Vescovo, researcher at RootstockLabs and core contributor to Bitcoin Layer-2 network Rootstock, told Cryptonews that the main quantum threat to Bitcoin comes from Shor’s algorithm.

According to Vescovo, this algorithm allows a quantum computer to solve problems that are classically hard – specifically, integer factorization and the discrete logarithm problem.

Market Context

Quantum computers are capable of breaking the mathematical difficulty underlying cryptography, making this one of the biggest threats facing blockchain networks.

While quantum computers remain incapable of this currently, Vescovo pointed out that estimates suggest this could become feasible within 10 to 20 years. This has become widely known, and has even been dubbed Q-Day (or Quantum Day) to represent the “Quantum Apocalypse.”

Why It Matters

Fortunately, the impact of quantum computing is still years away. However, industry experts believe that Bitcoin (BTC) is particularly vulnerable, and therefore think that early preparation is key for maintaining the future of the BTC network.

“Rootstock also uses ECDSA for user accounts, contracts, and bridge signers,” Vescovo said. “Once a quantum computer is powerful enough to run Shor’s algorithm at scale, it could derive the private key of any address whose public key is visible onchain. This would allow an attacker to forge valid transactions and steal funds.”

Fortunately, there has been much attention on this topic lately. For instance, David Johnston – a code maintainer at Morpheus – told Cryptonews that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released their recommendations on post quantum cryptography. Johnston added that messaging apps like Signal have already adopted these standards as of last year.

For example, Vescovo explained that Rootstock is heavily focused on evaluating post-quantum signature schemes that could eventually replace ECDSA.

Details

“These are the mathematical foundations of many digital signature schemes, including those used in cryptocurrencies,” Vescovo said.

He elaborated that Bitcoin uses “ECDSA over secp256k1,” which is a signature scheme based on the elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem.

Although frightening, Vescovo added that a quantum computer would need several thousand logical qubits – the fundamental unit of quantum information – to break 256-bit elliptic curve cryptography like ECDSA.

Current Quantum Threat and How To Prepare

With this in mind, Vescovo believes that early preparation is critical.

“To prepare, the ecosystem should begin migrating to post-quantum signature schemes,” he said.

These are algorithms that are secure even against quantum adversaries. In order to enable this, Vescovo noted that new schemes should be selected, while wallets and node software should be adapted.

David Carvalho, CEO and founder of Naoris Protocol – a production quantum-resistant blockchain and cybersecurity mesh architecture – told Cryptonews that the Web3 community must also begin to accelerate research and adoption of post-quantum cryptographic standards.

Quantum-Resilient Infrastructure

In addition to standards and research, a number of blockchain protocols have started taking steps to secure infrastructure against quantum computers.

“We’re exploring standardized schemes like Dilithium for user accounts and SPHINCS+ for roles requiring long-term security, such as bridge signers,” he said.

The work being done by Rootstock is still in its exposition stage, but remains a critical goal.

Carvalho also noted that Naoris Protocol was created to solve the threat of quantum computing. Carvalho explained that Naoris acts as a “decentralized cybersecurity mesh” on a post-quantum blockchain, reinforced by distributed artificial intelligence (AI).

“Instead of a single point of failure, every node validates the trustworthiness of every other, creating continuous, decentralized zero-trust,” he said. “Technically, we integrate quantum-resistant cryptography into the protocol, ensuring our signatures and consensus mechanisms remain secure even in a post-quantum world.”

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