Quantum-resistance in blockchain networks

Marcos Allende; Diego López León; Sergio Cerón; Adrián Pareja; Erick Pacheco; Antonio Leal; Marcelo Da Silva; Alejandro Pardo; Duncan Jones; David J Worrall; Ben Merriman; Jonathan Gilmore; Nick Kitchener; Salvador E Venegas-Andraca

doi:10.1038/s41598-023-32701-6

Quantum-resistance in blockchain networks

Sci Rep. 2023 Apr 6;13(1):5664. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-32701-6.

Authors

Marcos Allende^{1

2}, Diego López León^{1

2}, Sergio Cerón^{1

2}, Adrián Pareja^{1

2}, Erick Pacheco^{1

2}, Antonio Leal^{1

2}, Marcelo Da Silva^{1

2}, Alejandro Pardo^{1

2}, Duncan Jones³, David J Worrall³, Ben Merriman³, Jonathan Gilmore³, Nick Kitchener³, Salvador E Venegas-Andraca⁴

Affiliations

¹ IDB-Inter-American Development Bank, 1300 New York Ave, Washington, DC, USA.
² LACChain-Global Alliance for the Development of the Blockchain Ecosystem in LAC, Washington, DC, USA.
³ Quantinuum, London, UK.
⁴ Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Ingenieria y Ciencias, Monterrey, NL, Mexico. svenegas@tec.mx.

Abstract

The advent of quantum computing threatens blockchain protocols and networks because they utilize non-quantum resistant cryptographic algorithms. When quantum computers become robust enough to run Shor's algorithm on a large scale, the most used asymmetric algorithms, utilized for digital signatures and message encryption, such as RSA, (EC)DSA, and (EC)DH, will be no longer secure. Quantum computers will be able to break them within a short period of time. Similarly, Grover's algorithm concedes a quadratic advantage for mining blocks in certain consensus protocols such as proof of work. Today, there are hundreds of billions of dollars denominated in cryptocurrencies and other digital assets that rely on blockchain ledgers as well as thousands of blockchain-based applications storing value in blockchain networks. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based applications require solutions that guarantee quantum resistance in order to preserve the integrity of data and assets in these public and immutable ledgers. The quantum threat and some potential solutions are well understood and presented in the literature. However, most proposals are theoretical, require large QKD networks, or propose new quantum-resistant blockchain networks to be built from scratch. Our work, which is presented in this paper, is pioneer in proposing an end-to-end framework for post-quantum blockchain networks that can be applied to existing blockchain to achieve quantum-resistance. We have developed an open-source implementation in an Ethereum-based (i.e., EVM compatible) network that can be extended to other existing blockchains. For the implementation we have (i) used quantum entropy to generate post-quantum key pairs, (ii) established post-quantum TLS connections and X.509 certificates to secure the exchange of information between blockchain nodes over the internet without needing a large QKD network, (iii) introduced a post-quantum second signature in transactions using Falcon-512 post-quantum keys, and (iv) developed the first on-chain verification of post-quantum signatures using three different mechanisms that are compared and analyzed: Solidity smart-contracts run by the validators for each transaction, modified EVM Opcode, and precompiled smart contracts.