Committing to Quantum Resistance, Better: A Speed-and-Risk-Configurable Defence for Bitcoin Against a Fast Quantum Computing Attack

Dragos I. Ilie (), William J. Knottenbelt () and Iain D. Stewart ()
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Dragos I. Ilie: Imperial College London
William J. Knottenbelt: Imperial College London
Iain D. Stewart: Imperial College London

A chapter in Mathematical Research for Blockchain Economy, 2020, pp 117-132 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract In light of the emerging threat of powerful quantum computers appearing in the near future, we investigate the potential attacks on Bitcoin available to a quantum-capable adversary. In particular, we illustrate how Shor’s quantum algorithm can be used to forge ECDSA based signatures, allowing attackers to hijack transactions. We then propose a simple commit–delay–reveal protocol, which allows users to securely move their funds from non-quantum-resistant outputs to those adhering to a quantum-resistant digital signature scheme. In a previous paper (Stewart et al. R. Soc. Open Sci. 5(6), 180410 (2018)) [1] we presented a similar scheme with a long fixed delay. Here we improve on our previous work, by allowing each user to choose their preferred delay–long for a low risk of attack, or short if a higher risk is acceptable to that user. As before, our scheme requires modifications to the Bitcoin protocol, but once again these can be implemented as a soft fork.

Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:prbchp:978-3-030-37110-4_9

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-37110-4_9

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