Quantum-safe Bitcoin milestone: StarkWare and Blockstream lead

StarkWare enabled the first quantum-safe Bitcoin transaction. Blockstream proposed SHRINCS, a post-quantum signature scheme, as the push for quantum-resistant blockchain security grows.

StarkWare has marked a major milestone by executing the first quantum-safe Bitcoin transaction on the mainnet. Using hash-based cryptography, this transaction—worth 3.1 BTC—demonstrates Bitcoin’s ability to resist future quantum computing threats without altering its consensus rules. This achievement could boost institutional confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term security. Meanwhile, Blockstream has introduced a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal for SHRINCS, a hash-based post-quantum signature scheme. SHRINCS, tested on the Liquid sidechain, is the first concrete post-quantum signature proposal for Bitcoin. While not a perfect solution, it represents a practical compromise among current alternatives, requiring larger signatures and stateful key management. The urgency for quantum-safe solutions is growing as the risk of quantum computers breaking Bitcoin’s existing cryptography becomes more real. These developments signal a race to upgrade the network’s security for the future.