Naoris Launches Post-Quantum Blockchain as Bitcoin, Ethereum Devs Struggle to Face Threats

The long-discussed “quantum apocalypse” – or “question day”—When quantum computers can break modern cryptography, moving beyond theory race against time For the blockchain industry. But now there are blockchain networks launching that claim to be ready for that inevitability.

On Thursday, Norris Protocol launched its mainnet, describing the network as a blockchain built from the ground up with post-quantum cryptography using algorithms approved by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The project joins a growing list of efforts that explore how blockchains might work if quantum computers eventually defeat the cryptographic systems on which most blockchains rely today.

Most major blockchains—including Bitcoin And Ethereum– Secure transactions with public-key signatures, such as the elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA). These systems rely on mathematical problems that classical computers cannot possibly solve. However, researchers warn that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could break those protections by using Shor’s algorithm, allowing attackers to obtain the private key from the public key and take control of the wallet.

Nathaniel Szczerza, chief development officer of the Norris protocol, said the project deliberately chose to implement the final federal standard for the technology rather than older research versions of the algorithm.

“Most blockchain projects experimenting with post-quantum signatures treat ‘dilithium’ and ‘ML-DSA’ as interchangeable labels,” Szczerza explained. Decrypt. “The Naorois regard them as a hard frontier.”

ML-DSA is a standardized version of the crystal-dilithium algorithm approved by NIST as part of post-quantum cryptography. Program. As Szczerza explained, Crystal-Dilithium and ML-DSA-87 are not two different algorithms. ML-DSA is the NIST-standardized version of Crystals-Dilithium, published as FIPS 204 in August 2024.

Naoris’ announcement comes as blockchain developers debate how to transition to quantum-resistant cryptography, as doing so would require significant Change For existing networks. In February, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin mentioned Plans to replace several cryptographic components of the protocol, including BLS and ECDSA signatures, with alternatives designed to resist quantum attacks.

Bitcoin developers are exploring similar ideas as contributors move forward BIP 360A proposal that aims to reduce public key risk in transactions by introducing a new output type called Pay-to-Merkle-Root. The design disables a technical feature called key-path spending, which exposes public keys when coins are spent, and lays the groundwork for adding post-quantum signature schemes in future soft forks.

Because blockchain transaction histories are public and permanent, the cryptographic signatures associated with those transactions remain visible indefinitely. If quantum computers eventually reach the required scale, attackers could analyze past transaction data to recover private keys from exposed signatures.

Szczerza said Norris attempts to mitigate that risk by implementing a transition away from classical signatures when an account adopts post-quantum keys.

“Once an account becomes PQC-bound, the system implements a hard, irreversible change,” he said. “The transaction processor checks each incoming transaction. If the sender’s address has a PQC binding in the registry, the transaction must have a valid ML-DSA internal signature.”

He explained that only ECDSA transactions from a bound account are rejected with a specific error telling users that a PQC signature is required for the bound account.

The Naoris Network currently works with a limited set of validator operators as the project expands participation. Before launching the mainnet, Naoris said its testnet processed more than 106 million post-quantum transactions and detected more than 603 million security threats. decrypt has not independently verified these figures.

Because Naoris cannot retroactively secure assets already recorded on the blockchain relying on classical cryptography, Szczerza said users will need to transfer assets to the Naoris network in order to preserve them.

“Assets transferred to Norris have become quantum-secure, while assets left on classical chains remain insecure,” he said. “The sooner users migrate, the shorter their exposure window will be.”