QuFi launches post-quantum verification platform with Bitcoin testnet proof

QuFi has unveiled a platform for post-quantum verification of digital asset transactions, designed to safeguard against future quantum computing threats without altering existing blockchain settlement networks. The decentralized platform separates verification from settlement, utilizing a network of nodes to validate transactions with post-quantum cryptography before they are settled on existing blockchains.

QuFi launched uBTC, a proof-of-concept that applies the verification system to Bitcoin, currently operating on Bitcoin Testnet4. The system verifies Bitcoin collateral and generates cryptographic proofs governing value movement between settlement environments, with redemptions settling as standard Bitcoin transactions. The platform employs three post-quantum cryptographic standards - ML-DSA-65, SLH-DSA, and ML-KEM-1024 - for digital signatures and secure key exchange.

This external verification layer aims to prevent the increased storage, bandwidth, and computing requirements that may arise from implementing larger post-quantum signatures directly on individual blockchains. The platform arrives as various initiatives seek to prepare blockchain networks for potential quantum computing threats.

StarkWare tested a quantum-resistant Bitcoin transaction on mainnet in August, while banks and regulators across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia piloted post-quantum wallets and onchain transfers using ML-DSA-65, one of QuFi's cryptographic standards. Ethereum Foundation dropped the Poseidon hash function from its post-quantum architecture and explored protocol-level defenses.

Blockstream researchers proposed SHRINCS, an experimental post-quantum signature scheme to reduce the size and performance costs of quantum-resistant signatures, though it remains in an early stage and adds complexity and potential failure modes.