Belian Pioneers: Bringing Blockchain Safety to the Post-Quantum Era

The development of quantum computing is being closely watched by the cryptocurrency industry because quantum machines have the potential to solve some mathematical problems a billion times quicker than current computers. A functioning quantum computer has the ability to decrypt every encryption mechanism utilised by the internet as it exists right now. A full-scale quantum computer may compromise internet-based financial transactions and well-known text messaging services in less than a day, yet it would take a conventional computer millions of years to understand the cryptographic keys that secure the majority of online communications. A mathematician named Peter Shor who worked at Bell Labs in New Jersey demonstrated that some of the most used encryption protocols may be broken with the help of a quantum computer. Before his findings were made public, a National Security Agency staffer in the United States got in touch with him and expressed alarm, subsequently writing, "Such a decryption capacity may render the loser's military forces essentially worthless, and its economy reversed." [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="975"] Image credit- Tech Times[/caption] This is one of the reasons the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the US Department of Commerce has started a project to create post-quantum security standards, asking experts to submit quantum-resistant public-key algorithms for assessment, warning: "Many of the public-key cryptosystems currently in use will be cracked if large-scale quantum computers are ever created. The integrity and security of digital communications via the Internet and elsewhere would be substantially jeopardised by this. Because of this, we must start preparing our information security systems now to be ready to resist quantum computing, regardless of whether we can predict the precise moment of the advent of the quantum computing age." This day may still seem fairly distant in the future given the capabilities of today's quantum computers. But quantum computer technology is developing quickly. 2019 saw the separate construction of 53-qubit quantum computers by Google and IBM. Two years later, a Boston-based startup by the name of QuEra created a 256-qubit quantum computer, and this year, IBM declared that they would finish a 1,000-qubit computer the next year. Additionally, PsiQuantum has already raised $215 million to construct a quantum computer that includes one million qubits. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Image credit- The Quantum Insider[/caption] Decentralized networks are regrettably also on the list of prospective victims because a quantum computer could compromise at least one fundamental cryptographic primitive supporting the majority of current blockchains (i.e., the digital signature scheme). Everyone is concerned that blockchains, including Bitcoin's, will be easily compromised by quantum computers. All digital assets are thus in danger. Additionally, while though blockchain technology has historically been mostly used in cryptocurrency applications, a number of other commercial sectors that have started to use decentralised leger technology risk being attacked by quantum computers in the future. These consist of:

• Financial services that employ blockchain technology to significantly cut down on the amount of time it takes to clear and settle a financial asset trade or exchange.
• Identity management services, which support distributed identity management services using blockchain technology.
• Blockchain technology is used in the healthcare industry to secure patient records, audit healthcare transactions, and stop the supply of fake prescription pharmaceuticals.
•  Smart Homes and IoT, which make use of blockchain to guarantee that home-based gadgets can be remotely operated in a secure manner.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Image credit- Duncan Wong[/caption] Supply Chain and Logistic Services track shipments as they move through intricate supply chains while automating chores along the way using blockchain-powered devices. The automotive sector is investigating the potential of blockchain technology to support automated gasoline payments, smart parking, and automated traffic controls. Given the fast growing use of decentralised ledger technology in today's business and financial sectors, it is obvious that developing a blockchain that is impervious to quantum attacks is essential. This challenging work has already been undertaken by a team of cryptographers and mathematicians from the Singapore-based project Abelian, which has developed the world's first L1 post-quantum blockchain and its own privacy-preserving coin.