AI coding assistance for one week, bringing the estimated cost of anti-quantum Bitcoin transactions down from $320 to $66

StarkWare recently tested a transfer method for countering quantum attacks on Bitcoin mainnet , which reportedly cost $320 per calculation, and the team said that it could be reduced to $66 after further optimization, but according to CoinDesk's accounting, putting the accelerated data set displayed by official website into a cost-sensitive package resulted in about $83. The scheme is seen as an emergency protection measure against quantum computing threats.

What Is the Solution?

quantum computing is seen as one of the potential long-term threats to Bitcoin : once quantum computer becomes strong enough, an attacker can retransmit private key from a wallet exposed by public key , and then move on to Bitcoin .

A key feature of the scheme is that it is compatible with Bitcoin 's existing rules and can be tried out without network upgrades or community approval. This means that it could serve as a contingency option for transferring eligible coins until more comprehensive quantum protection schemes are adopted by Bitcoin .

Disputes over cost and verification

Cost is the biggest obstacle to this solution. The $320 per transaction calculated expense listed in official website would be unrealistic for widespread use. StarkWare says that a lower-cost follow-on solution will be more practical, with $66 coming from an estimate of one calculation test.

But CoinDesk points out one detail: The $320 cost of applying the acceleration data shown on the competition's website to its listed specification is estimated at about $83. The site states that subsequent record-breaking running results are beyond the range of measurements already displayed, but does not say which results support this $66 estimate. Furthermore, the improved code has yet to demonstrate how to prepare for another transaction already mined in Bitcoin .

What are the limitations of this program?

In addition to the cost, there are structural shortcomings in this approach: It does not take into account all of the costs.

First, these transactions must be sent directly to crypto miner because they are not routinely distributed across the network and their use by ordinary users is completely different from everyday transfers.

Second, it could not protect the exposed public key coins which are precisely what quantum attackers would be able to reach first. In other words, there is limited coverage of this contingency plan for those who are most directly threatened.

Follow-up on the Bitcoin community

Quantum security is currently one of the topics discussed by Bitcoin 's developer community, and a real solution will likely require upgrades at the protocol level, which in turn requires a lengthy process of community consensus. StarkWare attempts to provide a transition option that does not rely on network approval, but its practicality depends on whether costs can be independently verified as well as covering exposed stockpiles of public key coins. Subsequent points of interest include: Whether the team has publicly released complete data for lower-cost operations, and if this approach can be demonstrated in more actual transactions.