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Restructured from flat .tex/.pdf files into per-paper subdirectories. Added Antje Worring as co-author on all papers. Synced PDFs to pdfs/ for download site.
33 lines
1.7 KiB
TeX
33 lines
1.7 KiB
TeX
\section{Introduction}
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\label{sec:introduction}
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The security of every major blockchain rests on the hardness of the discrete logarithm
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problem (DLP) on elliptic curves. Bitcoin uses ECDSA on secp256k1. Ethereum uses
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ECDSA on secp256k1 for transactions and BLS12-381 for consensus. Lux uses BLS12-381
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for consensus, ECDSA for C-Chain transactions, and EdDSA for bridge operations.
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Shor's algorithm~\cite{shor1997} solves DLP in polynomial time on a quantum computer,
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breaking all of these schemes simultaneously.
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This paper is not about whether quantum computers will eventually break blockchain
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cryptography---they will, given sufficient scale. It is about \emph{when} and
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\emph{how}, and what the consequences are for systems that do not prepare.
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The central argument is that blockchain is \emph{uniquely} vulnerable to quantum
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attack compared to other cryptographic systems, for three reasons:
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\begin{enumerate}[leftmargin=2em]
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\item \textbf{Permanent public record}: Every signature ever produced is stored
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on-chain forever. There is no concept of session expiry.
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\item \textbf{Harvest-now-decrypt-later}: An adversary need not have a quantum
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computer today. Recording signed transactions and public keys today is
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sufficient to mount attacks years later.
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\item \textbf{Economic persistence}: Unlike a TLS session protecting a single
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HTTP request, blockchain signatures protect assets that may appreciate in
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value over decades.
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\end{enumerate}
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%% ========================================================================
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%% 2. SHOR'S ALGORITHM: IMPACT ON BLOCKCHAIN PRIMITIVES
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%% ========================================================================
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