Stacks is well ahead of the post-quantum game.
Stacks Labs just completed the first post-quantum $sBTC transfer on Stacks mainnet.
@Stacks used a Lamport one-time signature verified in Clarity, showing the network can already check hash-based post-quantum signatures through smart contracts with no protocol upgrade needed.
Quantum computers are a long-term risk for Bitcoin and other chains that rely on elliptic-curve signatures. A sufficiently powerful machine could potentially break those signatures and put funds at risk.
The transfer is part of ongoing research into making Stacks quantum-resistant. The team is now looking at other post-quantum schemes and how the work could support Bitcoin L1, since Stacks settles to Bitcoin and $sBTC is backed by $BTC.
JUST IN: Stacks Labs completes first post-quantum solana:23Ka67YHjEwinGV731cGPXdxKGyfLYe948FksehmUdX5 transfer on Stacks mainnet
The test used a Lamport one-time signature verified through a Clarity smart contract, demonstrating that Stacks can validate hash-based post-quantum signatures without a protocol upgrade.
The contracts, signing software and test evidence are public on GitHub for anyone to review.
Full write up, plus what's next for post-quantum research on Stacks:
https://t.co/XfngpPdhU0
Each Lamport key can sign only once. After a transfer, the contract installs the next key in the same transaction, so an old authorization can't be replayed.
A separate Stacks account submits the message and pays the fee in STX.
Stacks Labs engineers built an sBTC vault that only releases funds after a Stacks smart contract checks a valid Lamport one-time signature.
The signed message fixes the asset, amount, recipient and next key. Change any of those and the authorization no longer holds.
How Stacks engineers moved sBTC with a post-quantum signature, without a protocol upgrade:
Bitcoin and Stacks use elliptic-curve signatures, which a powerful enough quantum computer could break to forge transactions. Hash-based signatures are designed to resist that.
Wanted level: ★★★★★
Prize: ₿0.50000000
New mission unlocked: Stack Sats Phase 3 on Bitflow 🌴
Win Bitcoin daily. Get paid for trading it. Earn for market making.
If you’ve ever wondered how Stacks is building Bitcoin capital markets, this is the one.
@muneeb gets into miners, Lightning, quantum, and how Bitcoiners are earning BTC on their BTC in self custody.