Solana Developers Claim Network Now Quantum-Resistant

Solana developers have successfully created a quantum-resistant vault on the Solana blockchain, aiming to safeguard user funds against potential threats posed by powerful quantum computers.

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How It Works

The ‘Solana Winternitz Vault’ solution achieves this by implementing a complex hash-based signature system that generates new keys every time a transaction is made. This is explained in detail by cryptography researcher and Zeus Network chief scientist Dean Little in his January 3 GitHub post:

"Generating new private keys for each transaction should make it more difficult for quantum computers to plan a coordinated attack on any given set of public keys, which are exposed each time a transaction is signed."

Quantum-Resistant Feature Availability

The Solana quantum-resistant feature is currently available as an optional addition, not a network-wide security upgrade. This means that Solana users must choose to store their funds in the Winternitz vaults, rather than their regular Solana wallets, to ensure their assets are protected against potential quantum threats.

Winternitz Vault Implementation

The Winternitz vault first generates a new Winternitz keypair and computes the Keccak256 Merkle root of the public key. A ‘split’ vault consisting of a split and refund account is then created, where the user generates a Winternitz signature over a message containing the amount of ‘lamports’ — the smallest denomination of the native cryptocurrency Solana (SOL) — that they want to transfer.

Once the transfer is completed, any remaining funds are transferred to the refund account and the vault is closed. The process can be visualized as follows:

Winternitz Vault Process

Key Generation: A new Winternitz keypair is generated.
Merkle Root Calculation: The Keccak256 Merkle root of the public key is computed.
Split Vault Creation: A ‘split’ vault consisting of a split and refund account is created.
Winternitz Signature Generation: The user generates a Winternitz signature over a message containing the amount of lamports to be transferred.
Transfer Completion: The transfer is completed, and any remaining funds are transferred to the refund account.
Vault Closure: The vault is closed.

Fear of Quantum Computers

The development could offer a degree of reassurance to many crypto investors who fear their cryptographically secured funds could one day be wiped out by an overpowering quantum computer.

Dean Little seemingly poked fun at Bitcoin investor and commentator Fred Krueger, sharing screenshots from his December 19 X post in which Krueger said Solana would be the ‘first casualty’ of quantum:

"I’m not sure what’s more alarming: the fear of quantum computers or the lack of understanding about how cryptography works."

Ethereum’s Quantum-Resistant Roadmap

Part of Ethereum’s technical roadmap includes implementing quantum-resistant solutions. However, one of Ethereum’s founders, Vitalik Buterin, is confident that quantum won’t pose any real threat for at least a decade:

"Even if ‘real’ quantum computers come soon, the day when regular people have quantum computers on their laptops or phones may well be decades after the day when powerful institutions get one that can crack elliptic curve cryptography."

Related Developments

The proposed change could save Ethereum from its ‘L2 roadmap to hell.’ Explore more articles like this and stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the crypto space.

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