79 KiB
ROADMAP — Hanzo / Lux Cryptographic Stack, Q4 2026 → Q4 2029
Multi-year engineering plan for the Hanzo / Lux cryptographic stack.
Audience: NIST reviewers, IETF/CFRG editors, audit-lab partners, FIPS 140-3 lab engagement leads, Lux internal cryptography engineering, patent counsel. Written as a hard-edged engineering plan — not a marketing document.
Maintained by:
[email protected]Last revised: 2026-05-18 (initial draft)
§A Executive Summary
State today (2026-05-18). One construction in the Hanzo crypto
inventory — Pulsar v0.1 (threshold ML-DSA-65, FIPS 204) — is
NIST-MPTC submission-ready: full cover sheet (SUBMISSION.md),
formal spec (spec/pulsar.tex), IETF draft (ietf-draft-skeleton.md),
reference implementation (ref/go/), EasyCrypt mechanization (11
files compile, 0 admits, 71 enumerated residual axioms — see
proof-axiom-inventory.md), 5 Lean-bridged algebraic identities (verified
by scripts/check-lean-bridge.sh), Jasmin threshold sources + jasmin-ct
3/3 blocking-green, KAT vectors cross-validated against three independent
ML-DSA implementations, royalty-free patent grant (patents.md),
21-claim attorney-prep document (patent-claims.md), and 13/13
production go-live blockers closed (BLOCKERS.md). Every other
construction listed in suite.md — Corona, Magnetar,
LSS, FROST/CGGMP21 (Lux profile), BLS aggregate (Lux profile), X-Wing-Sig,
P3Q precompile, C-Chain / X-Chain PQ migration, Z-Chain PQ identity
rollup, threshold TFHE — has varying degrees of LP-level spec
maturity but lacks the matching SUBMISSION-grade packaging.
Three-year target (Q4 2029). Pulsar / Corona / Magnetar each have NIST-submission-shaped packages with mechanized refinement proofs; FROST and CGGMP21 each have Lux-profile IETF drafts with EasyCrypt
- Lean proofs and constant-time analyses; X-Wing-Sig is an IETF
RFC-class draft with reference implementation and Lean composition
theorem; the Quasar finality stack provably enforces the strict-PQ
profile end-to-end (and has been independently audited at that
profile); the P3Q precompile is deployed on C-Chain at slot
0x012205and exercised in production; C-Chain and X-Chain support PQ-native account types with X-Wing-Sig as the transition envelope; Z-Chain PQ identity rollup is live with Groth16 abort-evidence verification; threshold TFHE bootstrap-key generation is functional on F-Chain; ACVP/CAVP certificates have been issued by an accredited lab for ML-DSA-65, ML-KEM-768, and SLH-DSA SHAKE-192s in the Pulsar reference implementation; one FIPS 140-3 module containing Pulsar has been submitted to CMVP; and the canonical Rust crate + C library - WASM build + no_std embedded target ship under semver discipline with external constant-time audits.
Honest caveat. This roadmap is a plan, not a delivery contract. Items gated on external bodies — NIST ratification, IETF RFC publication, FIPS 140-3 lab issuance, CMVP certificate issuance, USPTO grant — describe what Lux submits, not what the external body decides. Items gated on open research — full bit-level FIPS 204 codec mechanization (Barbosa-Barthe-Dupressoir scale, ~6 person-months for a senior cryptographer-formal-methods specialist per CRYPTO 2023 precedent), κ-loop probabilistic Hoare model in EasyCrypt (no published reduction at this scale; multi-month research project), checked Lean↔EasyCrypt translation tooling (no such tool exists in the published literature; multi-month research project) — will slip unless those research items close. Several of the items in §B are explicitly research, not engineering. The roadmap names them as such; the engineering work plans around them, not on top of them.
§B Work Streams
Each stream below is its own section. Effort is in person-weeks of senior cryptographer + formal-methods engineer time, not calendar-weeks. Calendar slips because senior crypto-FM specialists are not parallelizable beyond a small team.
§B.1 Pulsar Tier 1 Post-Submission
Stream ID: PULSAR-POST-SUBMISSION
Owner: Lux crypto-engineering lead + outside formal-methods
collaborator (Cryspen / Galois / Formosa-Crypto consortium contact)
Current state:
- Submission package ready (cover, spec, IETF draft, ref impl, EC + Lean proofs, KAT vectors, PATENTS, AXIOM-INVENTORY, PROOF-CLAIMS, TCB, FIPS-TRACEABILITY, evaluation report).
- 71 enumerated residual EC axioms (
grep -rEn "^axiom\s+\w" proofs/easycrypt/ | wc -l→ 71 on tagv13). - 5 Lean bridges hard-pinned via
scripts/check-lean-bridge.sh. - All 13 production go-live blockers closed (BLOCKERS.md, audit dated 2026-05).
- One open advisory: libjade sign CT issue #2 (
ct/jasmin-ct-libjade.md). - κ-loop probabilistic Hoare model is OPEN RESEARCH (no closure path).
Target end state (Q4 2027):
- Full κ-loop probabilistic Hoare-logic model in EasyCrypt
discharging both
*_no_reject_on_accepted_honest_layoutaxioms. - Bit-level FIPS 204 codec mechanization in EasyCrypt (Barbosa- Barthe-Dupressoir style) discharging ~21 codec round-trip axioms.
- Stage-level byte-walk axioms
combine_body_{w,h}_specandsign_body_{z,w,h}_specdischarged via narrower sub-axioms (ExpandA + ExpandMask + mat_vec_mul; MakeHint) where mechanizable. - ACVP/CAVP algorithm-validation certificate for the Pulsar reference implementation (ML-DSA-65 conformance) issued by an accredited lab.
- FIPS 140-3 module submission for one packaged Pulsar consumer (e.g. Lux KMS) to CMVP.
- External cryptographic audit (Cryspen / NCC / Trail of Bits / Kudelski) report published with all critical / high findings remediated.
- External implementation audit (separate engagement) report published with all critical / high findings remediated.
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2026 | NIST MPTC submission | Cut submission-2026-11-16 tag from main; deliver the tarball to NIST by 2026-11-16. |
| Q4 2026 | External-audit scoping | Three lab RFPs out (Cryspen, NCC Group, Trail of Bits). Scope: spec + proofs + ref impl. Budget anchor: USD 250-400 k. |
| Q1 2027 | External cryptographic audit kickoff | One lab engaged. 8-12 week engagement. Findings tracked in audits/<lab>-<year>/. |
| Q1 2027 | κ-loop EasyCrypt research start | Hire / engage formal-methods specialist for the probabilistic Hoare-logic model. 6-12 person-months. |
| Q2 2027 | Codec mechanization research start | Engage academic collaborator for bit-level FIPS 204 codec mechanization (BBD-scale). 6 person-months. |
| Q2 2027 | Audit report Round 1 | All audit findings classified C/H/M/L. C+H remediation begins immediately. |
| Q3 2027 | NIST MPTC public-analysis response | NIST submission feedback (if any) addressed. Public mailing-list responses to community analysis. |
| Q3 2027 | ACVP/CAVP lab engagement | Engage atsec / Acumen / Leidos / Atsec for ACVP validation of the Pulsar reference implementation. |
| Q4 2027 | κ-loop model first draft | Probabilistic Hoare-logic model compiled in EC; first attempt at discharging *_no_reject_* axioms. |
| Q4 2027 | Codec mechanization first draft | First subset of codec round-trip axioms (sk encode/decode) discharged. |
| Q1 2028 | ACVP/CAVP certificate issuance (target) | Certificate from the lab; cert number recorded in fips-204-traceability.md. (External outcome — Lux controls submission, not issuance.) |
| Q2 2028 | FIPS 140-3 module submission | One Pulsar consumer (e.g., Lux KMS) packaged as a FIPS 140-3 module; submitted to CMVP via lab. |
| Q4 2028 | Codec mechanization complete | All ~21 codec round-trip axioms either discharged or replaced with narrower sub-axioms. |
| Q1 2029 | κ-loop closure | Both *_no_reject_* axioms discharged from the axiom inventory. |
| Q3 2029 | Implementation audit | Second external audit on the Rust + C + WASM production targets. |
| Q4 2029 | All Stream B.1 deliverables landed | AXIOM-INVENTORY shrinks to: Lean-bridged algebraic (5), EC/Jasmin/OCaml TCB (out of EC trust). |
Dependencies: §B.14 (mechanized closure of residual EC axioms) is where the κ-loop and codec work formally lives. §B.15 (external audits) and §B.18 (FIPS 140-3) and §B.19 (ACVP/CAVP) are also called out as separate streams because their cadence and ownership are independent.
Risks:
- Research: κ-loop probabilistic Hoare model is open research
(no published reduction at this scale in the EasyCrypt literature).
This may not close in 12 months even with a dedicated specialist.
Mitigation: state operationally that
mldsa_accept_lower_boundis an inherited FIPS 204 acceptance bound; ship submission with current packaging even if κ-loop model slips. - Research: bit-level codec mechanization (BBD-scale) is a multi-month project even with a single specialist. Mitigation: prioritize the codec sub-axioms that are highest-leverage (signature encode/decode, sk encode/decode); leave low-leverage round-trips axiomatic with narrowed statements.
- Engineering: opam-pinned EasyCrypt version
909464ewill drift off mainline; new EC bug fixes / breaking changes require selective cherry-pick or pin migration. Mitigation: nightly canary build against EC head; quarterly opam refresh cadence. - External: ACVP/CAVP lab availability is constrained (single-digit number of US labs accredited for PQ algorithm validation as of 2026). Mitigation: line up two labs concurrently (atsec + Acumen).
- External: FIPS 140-3 module validation timeline is 12-24 months end-to-end; first submission may slip to 2029. Mitigation: manage expectation in roadmap (target Q2 2028 submission, certificate issuance is the lab's clock).
Effort estimate:
| Sub-task | Person-weeks |
|---|---|
| External cryptographic audit (Round 1) — Lux side: scoping, fix landings | 30 |
| κ-loop probabilistic Hoare-logic research | 60 |
| Codec mechanization (BBD-scale) | 80 |
| ACVP/CAVP lab engagement (Lux engineering side) | 12 |
| FIPS 140-3 module packaging + submission | 40 |
| Implementation audit (Round 2) | 20 |
| Documentation + axiom-inventory updates | 10 |
| Total | 252 |
Acceptance gate: proof-axiom-inventory.md residual count drops to ≤ 10 (only Lean-bridged + irreducible TCB items). External audit report published. ACVP cert recorded. FIPS 140-3 module submitted (not necessarily issued).
§B.2 Corona Tier 1b Submission Packaging
Stream ID: CORONA-SUBMISSION
Owner: Lux R-LWE specialist + cross-pollination from PULSAR-POST-SUBMISSION
Current state:
- Reference implementation mature at
~/work/lux/corona/(full Go:dkg/,dkg2/,cli/,cmd/,sign/,threshold/,reshare/,keyera/). - DESIGN.md and CONSTANT-TIME-REVIEW.md drafts present (
corona/DESIGN.md,corona/CONSTANT-TIME-REVIEW.md). - DKG oracle binary built (
corona/dkg_oracle*,corona/dkg2_oracle*). - Partial EC proof scaffolding for DKG only; no Lean bridges yet.
- No SUBMISSION.md, no spec-overview.md (standalone), no patents.md, no IETF draft, no AXIOM-INVENTORY, no PROOF-CLAIMS, no TCB, no FIPS-TRACEABILITY.
Target end state (Q2 2027):
- Corona has the same package shape as Pulsar:
corona/SUBMISSION.md,corona/docs/spec-overview.md,corona/docs/patents.md,corona/docs/proof-axiom-inventory.md,corona/docs/proof-claims.md,corona/docs/tcb.md,corona/docs/fips-204-traceability.md(since Corona is byte-compatible with FIPS 204 verifier — same underlying ML-DSA semantics, R-LWE sibling),corona/docs/suite.mdcross-reference,corona/docs/evaluation.md,corona/docs/ietf-draft.md,corona/docs/patent-claims.md,corona/CHANGELOG.md. - EC proofs mirror Pulsar's structure: refinement chain + axiom inventory + Lean bridges. The R-LWE arithmetic differs from M-LWE but the proof-engineering technique transfers (same Lagrange identity in Lean, different ring).
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2026 | Corona standalone spec | corona/docs/spec-overview.md (text spec) + corona/SUBMISSION.md (cover sheet) cut from existing DESIGN.md. Patent grant copied + R-LWE-specific. |
| Q1 2027 | Corona EC proof scaffolding | 11-file mirror of Pulsar's EC theories adapted to R-LWE: Corona_N1.ec, Corona_N1_{Sign,Combine}_{Refinement,Layout,Wrapper}.ec, Corona_N1_Memory.ec, etc. Same admit budget 0/0. |
| Q1 2027 | Corona Lean bridges | Same 5 Lean-bridged algebraic identities; reuse Crypto.Threshold.Lagrange Lean theory (ring-agnostic). Bridge guard pinned. |
| Q2 2027 | Corona Jasmin threshold layer | Port jasmin/threshold/{round1,round2,combine}.jazz to R-LWE arithmetic. jasmin-ct 3/3 blocking. |
| Q2 2027 | Corona IETF draft | ietf-draft.md for Corona; submit to CFRG mailing list for review. |
| Q3 2027 | Corona AXIOM-INVENTORY + PROOF-CLAIMS + TCB | Full trust accounting at Pulsar-grade. |
| Q3 2027 | Corona external review-ready | Submit to NIST MPTC public comment (no separate submission slot needed; Corona is a sibling not a parallel competitor). |
Dependencies: §B.21 (documentation + governance) for the IA update; §B.14 (mechanized closure) — Corona will inherit any κ-loop or codec discharge from Pulsar's work.
Risks:
- Engineering: R-LWE has different reduction properties from M-LWE; some Pulsar proof techniques may not transfer 1:1. Mitigation: identify per-axiom transfer feasibility at Q1 2027 scaffolding milestone; budget extra time for non-transferable lemmas.
- Engineering: Corona's Jasmin threshold layer needs an R-LWE baseline (no libjade equivalent for R-LWE). May require writing a Jasmin R-LWE single-party baseline from scratch. Mitigation: Lux's R-LWE Go reference is mature; transcribing it to Jasmin is 2-3 person-weeks with jasmin-ct checks.
Effort estimate:
| Sub-task | Person-weeks |
|---|---|
| Standalone SUBMISSION + SPEC + PATENTS + cover docs | 8 |
| EC proof scaffolding (11 files) | 20 |
| Lean bridge documentation + CI guards | 4 |
| Jasmin threshold layer (R-LWE arithmetic) | 12 |
| IETF draft | 6 |
| AXIOM-INVENTORY + PROOF-CLAIMS + TCB | 6 |
| evaluation.md + benchmarks | 6 |
| Total | 62 |
Acceptance gate: corona/check-high-assurance.sh runs analogous
checks to Pulsar's; all 7 per-push gates green. IETF draft accepted
by CFRG for working-group consideration (or explicit feedback received).
§B.3 Magnetar Tier 3 Research → Spec
Stream ID: MAGNETAR-RESEARCH-TO-SPEC
Owner: Lux + academic collaborator (hash-based-signatures research
group — Andreas Hülsing's group at TU/e, Bernstein–Lange axis, or
Joppe Bos / NXP)
Current state:
magnetar.md— research-direction placeholder (~125 lines), no spec, no implementation.- No published threshold-SLH-DSA construction is well-reviewed enough to lift directly; this is research-grade.
Target end state (Q4 2028):
- Research paper draft (LaTeX) proposing the Magnetar construction: distributed seed generation via Pedersen-VSS on the SHAKE seed; per-signature MPC for FORS / W-OTS+ Merkle traversal; identifiable abort with TLV evidence; reshare with public-key preservation.
- Initial prototype implementation (Go) demonstrating end-to-end threshold signing on SHAKE-192s.
- KAT vectors verified against single-party FIPS 205 SLH-DSA.
- Spec converging on parameter set
MAGNETAR-THRESHOLD-SLH-DSA-SHAKE-192s.
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | Literature survey + collaborator engagement | Identify academic collaborator; review prior threshold-hash-sig work (Coretta et al., Roy et al., Boneh-Boyen-Goh threshold-related literature). |
| Q4 2026 | Construction design draft | First-pass construction document under docs/magnetar-construction.tex. Open design questions enumerated. |
| Q1 2027 | Construction first review | Internal cryptographer + collaborator review. Open security analysis questions identified. |
| Q2 2027 | Threshold seed-generation prototype (Go) | DKG over the SHAKE seed using Pedersen-VSS. Standalone, not yet wired to FORS. |
| Q3 2027 | FORS-traversal MPC prototype | One Merkle layer of FORS-traversal computed under MPC; per-party time + bandwidth metrics. |
| Q4 2027 | W-OTS+ MPC prototype | One W-OTS+ chain computed under MPC; combined with FORS prototype = end-to-end one-signature ceremony. |
| Q1 2028 | Per-signature ceremony complete | Full per-signature flow producing a FIPS 205 SHAKE-192s signature byte-identical to single-party. KAT vectors written. |
| Q2 2028 | Identifiable-abort + reshare modules | Same TLV-encoded evidence format as Pulsar §10; per-MPC-round per-party state. |
| Q3 2028 | Research paper submitted | Submit to CRYPTO 2029 / EUROCRYPT 2029 / ASIACRYPT 2028. Self-archive on IACR ePrint. |
| Q4 2028 | Initial Magnetar v0.1 package | Same shape as Pulsar (SUBMISSION + SPEC + PATENTS + ref/ + proofs/). Status: research-grade, not production. |
Dependencies: §B.21 (governance) for an LP-NNN slot; §B.20 (patent prosecution) for any Magnetar-specific filings.
Risks:
- Research: there is no obviously-correct threshold construction for SLH-DSA. The whole stream is research, not engineering. Mitigation: treat 2027-2028 as a research project, not an implementation project; accept that the timeline may slip to 2029-2030.
- Performance: per-signature MPC will be 100-1000× the cost of single-party SLH-DSA; the prototype may show Magnetar is impractical at FIPS 205 SHAKE-192s. Mitigation: do the cost analysis early (Q1 2027); if untenable, downgrade Magnetar to "research-only artifact, no production track" and document accordingly.
- External: academic collaboration cadence is unpredictable.
Mitigation: Lux internal cryptographer takes ownership of design
- prototype; collaborator role is review + co-authorship.
Effort estimate:
| Sub-task | Person-weeks |
|---|---|
| Literature survey + collaborator engagement | 4 |
| Construction design + review | 12 |
| DKG-over-SHAKE prototype | 8 |
| FORS MPC prototype | 12 |
| W-OTS+ MPC prototype | 12 |
| End-to-end signing ceremony | 16 |
| Identifiable-abort + reshare | 8 |
| Research paper drafting + submission | 12 |
| Initial v0.1 package | 8 |
| Total | 92 |
Acceptance gate: Research paper accepted at CRYPTO/EUROCRYPT/ASIACRYPT OR self-archived on IACR ePrint with positive peer review. Prototype demonstrates end-to-end FIPS 205 SHAKE-192s signature production under MPC with KAT cross-validation.
§B.4 LSS Tier 4 IETF / CFRG Draft
Stream ID: LSS-CFRG-DRAFT
Owner: Lux MPC engineer
Current state:
- Specified inside LP-019 (
~/work/lux/lps/LP-019-threshold-mpc.md)- LP-077 (
~/work/lux/lps/LP-077-lss.md) + LP-141 (~/work/lux/lps/LP-141-threshold-vm.md).
- LP-077 (
- Implementation present inside
~/work/lux/mpc/and the Lux KMS. - No standalone IETF draft.
Target end state (Q3 2027):
- Standalone Internet-Draft
draft-lux-cfrg-linear-shamir-resharing-00submitted to IETF datatracker. - KAT vectors aligned with the
pulsar-mptc/vectors/format. - Reference impl extracted out of
~/work/lux/mpc/into a standalone library~/work/lux/lss/(separable from MPC infrastructure).
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2027 | Standalone draft skeleton | Convert LP-019 + LP-077 + LP-141 LSS sections into IETF-draft template (mmark/kramdown-rfc). |
| Q2 2027 | KAT vectors | Generate aligned KATs in pulsar-mptc/vectors/-style JSON; deterministic regen via seeded RNG. |
| Q2 2027 | Reference impl extraction | Split ~/work/lux/lss/ out of ~/work/lux/mpc/. Standalone go module. |
| Q3 2027 | IETF submission | Submit draft-lux-cfrg-linear-shamir-resharing-00 to CFRG. |
Dependencies: §B.21 (governance) for LP cross-refs.
Risks:
- External: CFRG may not adopt LSS as a working-group document if it's perceived as redundant with FROST or upstream Shamir. Mitigation: position LSS as proactive secret refresh wrapper for any linear threshold scheme (FROST, CGGMP21, BLS, Pulsar, Corona) — composable building block, not a parallel competitor.
Effort estimate: 18 person-weeks total.
Acceptance gate: Internet-Draft on datatracker (draft-lux-cfrg-*).
CFRG mailing-list discussion thread initiated.
§B.5 FROST Profile (Lux) + EC Proofs
Stream ID: FROST-LUX-PROFILE
Owner: Lux crypto-engineering (consumer-side: bridge, custody)
Current state:
- Upstream IETF draft
draft-irtf-cfrg-frostexists. - Lux implementation under
~/work/lux/mpc/cc/frost/(DKG, sign). - No Lux-specific profile draft; no EC proof in Lux; no CT analysis beyond ad-hoc review.
- LP-019 + LP-154 (
~/work/lux/lps/LP-154-frost.md) cover Lux's usage.
Target end state (Q4 2027):
~/work/lux/frost/standalone submission package: SUBMISSION.md, spec-overview.md (Lux profile: domain separation, transcript binding, deterministic- vs-randomized nonce mode, identifiable abort), patents.md (defensive grant, since FROST itself is published prior art), IETF draft (draft-lux-frost-profile-00).- EC proofs (refinement chain for Lux-profile sign + DKG).
- Lean bridges (Lagrange identity reused from Pulsar —
Crypto.Threshold.Lagrange). - Jasmin sources for the sign-share + combine pipeline; jasmin-ct blocking.
- KAT vectors aligned with Pulsar's format.
- Constant-time analysis report.
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2027 | Lux profile spec | ~/work/lux/frost/docs/spec-overview.md capturing Lux's domain separators, transcript-binding choices, identifiable-abort evidence format. |
| Q1 2027 | Reference impl extraction | Split into ~/work/lux/frost/ (Go) from ~/work/lux/mpc/cc/frost/. |
| Q2 2027 | EC proof scaffolding | Refinement chain modeled on Pulsar's: FROST_Sign_Layout, FROST_Sign_Refinement, FROST_Sign_Wrapper, FROST_DKG_*, etc. |
| Q2 2027 | KAT vectors | Aligned with upstream draft-irtf-cfrg-frost KATs + Lux-specific transcript-binding vectors. |
| Q3 2027 | Jasmin sources + jasmin-ct | Sign-share + combine in Jasmin; jasmin-ct 2/2 blocking-green. |
| Q3 2027 | Lean bridges | Reuse Crypto.Threshold.Lagrange.threshold_partial_response_identity. |
| Q3 2027 | IETF draft (Lux profile) | draft-lux-frost-profile-00 to datatracker. Convergence with upstream draft author maintained. |
| Q4 2027 | External CT review | jasmin-ct + dudect runs publicly archived. |
Dependencies: Lean Lagrange theory (already in Pulsar). §B.14 codec mechanization will help if FROST's Schnorr scheme has bit-level encoding axioms; Schnorr encoding is much simpler than ML-DSA, so this is mostly mechanical.
Risks:
- External: IETF draft-irtf-cfrg-frost is a moving target; Lux profile may need realignment. Mitigation: track upstream draft changes per RFC editor cadence.
Effort estimate: 50 person-weeks.
Acceptance gate: EC check-high-assurance.sh analogue passes;
jasmin-ct 2/2 blocking green; KAT vectors cross-validate against
upstream draft-irtf-cfrg-frost test vectors AND against any other
FROST implementation in the wild (zcash/orchard, FROST.zip).
§B.6 CGGMP21 Submission Package
Stream ID: CGGMP21-SUBMISSION
Owner: Lux crypto-engineering + bridge team
Current state:
- LP-019 + LP-155 (
~/work/lux/lps/LP-155-cggmp21.md) cover Lux's usage. - Implementation under
~/work/lux/mpc/cc/cggmp21/(and~/work/lux/mpc/infrastructure). - No Lux-specific spec; no EC proof; partial CT analysis.
Target end state (Q1 2028):
~/work/lux/cggmp21/standalone submission package: SUBMISSION.md, spec-overview.md (Lux profile: identifiable-abort variant with stronger evidence than upstream, transcript-binding, deterministic-presign mode), patents.md (defensive grant, since CGGMP21 is published academic prior art with no patent claims known), IETF draft (draft-lux-cggmp21-profile-00).- EC proofs (refinement chain for Lux-profile ECDSA threshold sign
- presign).
- Lean bridges for the Paillier-style ZK-proofs (range, log, mul).
- Constant-time analysis on Paillier + ECDSA operations (jasmin-ct not directly applicable to Paillier-modular-exp; use BearSSL constant- time bignum and document).
- KAT vectors.
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2027 | Spec extraction | LP-019 / LP-155 sections + implementation review → ~/work/lux/cggmp21/docs/spec-overview.md. |
| Q3 2027 | Reference impl extraction | ~/work/lux/cggmp21/ standalone. |
| Q4 2027 | EC proof scaffolding | Refinement chain for Lux-profile presign + sign. Identifies which CGGMP21 ZK proofs need Lean mechanization. |
| Q4 2027 | Lean ZK-proof bridges | Mechanize the Paillier-range-proof, log-proof, mul-proof identities in Lean; bridge to EC. |
| Q1 2028 | IETF draft | draft-lux-cggmp21-profile-00 to datatracker. |
| Q1 2028 | CT analysis + dudect runs | Constant-time analysis of Paillier-bignum operations; dudect at 10⁹ samples. |
| Q1 2028 | Identifiable-abort variant spec + proof | Document Lux's stronger evidence (vs. upstream) and prove the soundness/completeness reduction. |
Dependencies: Lean polynomial-ring theory; potentially Mathlib's Paillier soundness reductions (may need to be ported).
Risks:
- Engineering: Paillier-bignum constant-time is hard; we may need to ship with the same "advisory CT" framing libjade-sign has. Mitigation: identify a known-CT Paillier implementation (s2n, BoringSSL, or our own) at scoping; treat constant-time as a separate hardening milestone.
- Cryptographic: CGGMP21's full security reduction depends on ZK-proof soundness; mechanizing those is more work than Lagrange. Mitigation: scope ZK-proof bridges before EC scaffolding; estimate effort per-proof rather than aggregate.
Effort estimate: 70 person-weeks.
Acceptance gate: ~/work/lux/cggmp21/check-high-assurance.sh
analogue green; KAT vectors cross-validate against upstream CGGMP21
reference (Fireblocks open-source, zengo CGGMP21, dfns) AND a
secondary independent implementation.
§B.7 BLS Aggregated Signatures Profile
Stream ID: BLS-LUX-PROFILE
Owner: Lux consensus team
Current state:
- BLS12-381 production deployment in
~/work/lux/crypto/, Quasar finality stack consumer. - LP-075 + LP-110 (
~/work/lux/lps/LP-{075,110}-*.md) cover usage. - No standalone submission package; no EC proof.
Target end state (Q2 2028):
~/work/lux/bls/standalone package: SUBMISSION.md, spec-overview.md (Lux profile: aggregation, proof-of-possession to defend against rogue-key, domain separators per IETFdraft-irtf-cfrg-bls-signature), patents.md.- EC proofs (aggregation soundness reduction).
- KAT vectors cross-validated against
blst(which Lux already uses as test-time oracle perlps/CRYPTO-CANONICAL.md).
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2027 | Spec extraction | Per-LP material → ~/work/lux/bls/docs/spec-overview.md. |
| Q1 2028 | Reference impl extraction | Already factored; just produce SUBMISSION.md + IETF profile draft. |
| Q1 2028 | EC proof scaffolding | Aggregation + verify-aggregate reduction. |
| Q2 2028 | IETF draft | draft-lux-bls-aggregate-profile-00 (alignment with draft-irtf-cfrg-bls-signature). |
Risks: Rogue-key attack is the classical pitfall. Lux's profile MUST mandate proof-of-possession or message-augmentation. Document the choice and prove the security reduction.
Effort estimate: 35 person-weeks.
Acceptance gate: Lux profile draft accepted at CFRG for working-group
review (or explicit feedback received). KAT vectors byte-equal against
blst.
§B.8 X-Wing-Sig Hybrid Wrapper Specification
Stream ID: X-WING-SIG
Owner: Lux crypto-engineering (driver of x-wing-sig.md)
Current state:
x-wing-sig.mdproposed direction (no LP, no impl, no proof).
Target end state (Q2 2028):
~/work/lux/lps/LP-NNN-xwing-sig.mdLP draft (Final status).- IETF draft
draft-lux-cfrg-xwing-sig-00. - Reference implementation in
~/work/lux/crypto/xwing-sig/(Go) + Rust port (~/work/lux/crypto-rs/xwing-sig/). - Lean composition theorem:
HybridSig.secure ⇐ classical.secure ∨ pq.secure(under standard hybrid-signature composition; reference: Bindel-Brendel- Fischlin-Goncalves-Stebila "Hybrid Key Encapsulation Mechanisms and Authenticated Key Exchange" CT-RSA 2019 and follow-ups for signatures). - KAT vectors with
(classical, pq)ciphersuite identifiers.
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | LP draft | ~/work/lux/lps/LP-NNN-xwing-sig.md resolving open design questions in x-wing-sig.md §"Open design questions". |
| Q4 2026 | IETF draft 00 | draft-lux-cfrg-xwing-sig-00 to datatracker. |
| Q4 2026 | Reference impl (Go) | ~/work/lux/crypto/xwing-sig/ with Ed25519+ML-DSA-65 and ECDSA-P256+ML-DSA-65 ciphersuites. |
| Q1 2027 | KAT vectors | Aligned with Pulsar format; ciphersuite-tagged. |
| Q2 2027 | Lean composition theorem | ~/work/lux/proofs/lean/Crypto/XWingSig/Composition.lean. Compiled, no sorry. |
| Q2 2027 | Rust port | ~/work/lux/crypto-rs/xwing-sig/. No-std capable. |
| Q3 2027 | External review | CFRG mailing-list review; address feedback in -01 draft. |
| Q1 2028 | Wallet integration | First wallet (Lux KMS HSM) signs with X-Wing-Sig in production. |
| Q2 2028 | Threshold variant spec | "FROST × Pulsar" composition specified as draft-lux-cfrg-xwing-sig-threshold-00. |
Dependencies: §B.5 FROST (for threshold variant); §B.1 Pulsar (PQ side).
Risks:
- Cryptographic: composition theorems for hybrid signatures need care around malleability, length-extension, and signature-binding. Bindel et al's KEM work is the closest analog; signature composition is more subtle. Mitigation: state the composition theorem precisely (which security games compose); mechanize the composition argument in Lean.
- Standardization: NIST has not committed to a hybrid-signature
standardization track (unlike hybrid KEM where
xwingis in CFRG flight). X-Wing-Sig is Lux-led. Mitigation: pursue IETF/CFRG track but do not block production deployment on RFC publication.
Effort estimate: 35 person-weeks.
Acceptance gate: IETF draft on datatracker; reference impls (Go + Rust) cross-validate; Lean composition theorem compiles. First wallet deployment is the production-readiness signal.
§B.9 C-Chain Native PQ Migration
Stream ID: C-CHAIN-PQ-NATIVE
Owner: Lux EVM team + consensus team
Current state:
- C-Chain uses ECDSA (secp256k1) for transaction signing.
- LP-172 (
~/work/lux/lps/LP-172-wallet-pq-account-type.md) + LP-173 (~/work/lux/lps/LP-173-tx-auth-envelope.md) + LP-174 (~/work/lux/lps/LP-174-pq-permit.md) cover wallet-side PQ. - Strict-PQ profile enforcement landed (CR-1, CR-2 in
BLOCKERS.md). - P3Q precompile slot
0x012205reserved. - No PQ-native account type live in production.
Target end state (Q4 2028):
- C-Chain supports a new wallet account type (
PQ_ACCOUNT) where authorization is via X-Wing-Sig (Ed25519 + ML-DSA-65) or pure ML-DSA-65. - Validators verify ML-DSA on every PQ_ACCOUNT transaction (via P3Q precompile or native VM op).
- Legacy ECDSA accounts continue working through the transition window.
- Genesis-time
StrictPQTimeactivation per-chain controls migration.
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2027 | LP-172/173/174 finalization | Resolve open issues in LP-172 (account-type derivation, tx-envelope format, replay protection). |
| Q2 2027 | EVM precompile spec | LP-NNN: P3Q precompile at slot 0x012205 (gas cost analysis, input format, error cases). |
| Q3 2027 | Implementation (devnet) | Devnet C-Chain accepts PQ_ACCOUNT transactions with X-Wing-Sig envelopes. |
| Q4 2027 | Wallet SDK support | Lux JS SDK + Hanzo KMS sign PQ_ACCOUNT transactions. |
| Q1 2028 | Testnet deployment | testnet rolls out PQ_ACCOUNT support with telemetry. |
| Q2 2028 | Mainnet deployment (opt-in) | mainnet allows PQ_ACCOUNT registration; legacy ECDSA accounts unchanged. |
| Q3 2028 | Bridge integration | Lux native bridge (LP-016/017) accepts PQ_ACCOUNT signatures on both sides. |
| Q4 2028 | Migration telemetry | % of accounts migrated; gas-cost trajectory; ML-DSA verifier latency at consensus throughput. |
Dependencies: §B.8 X-Wing-Sig; §B.11 P3Q precompile; §B.1 Pulsar (for threshold-signing C-Chain validators if applicable).
Risks:
- Engineering: ML-DSA verification gas cost is ~10× ECDSA. C-Chain fee economics may need adjustment. Mitigation: precompile gas pricing review at Q2 2027 milestone; alternative is to batch-verify ML-DSA at block-level rather than per-tx.
- Operational: wallet upgrade is a long-tail problem. Mitigation: bridge encourages migration; legacy ECDSA never deprecated absent hard-fork vote.
Effort estimate: 80 person-weeks.
Acceptance gate: PQ_ACCOUNT transactions land on mainnet; first 1000 PQ_ACCOUNT addresses created; one bridge transfer signed PQ-native.
§B.10 X-Chain Native PQ Migration
Stream ID: X-CHAIN-PQ-NATIVE
Owner: Lux X-Chain team
Current state:
- X-Chain is UTXO-based; uses ECDSA + Ed25519 hybrid.
- LP-105 + LP-172-179 PQ LPs cover Lux-wide PQ.
- No PQ-native UTXO signing in production.
Target end state (Q1 2029):
- X-Chain UTXOs can be locked under a PQ output type (X-Wing-Sig envelope or pure ML-DSA-65).
- Validators verify PQ signatures on PQ-output spending.
- Legacy UTXOs continue working through transition window.
Per-quarter milestones: structurally mirror §B.9 (C-Chain), shifted ~1-2 quarters later to leverage C-Chain learnings.
| Quarter | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Q3 2027 | LP-NNN: X-Chain PQ output type spec |
| Q1 2028 | Devnet impl |
| Q2 2028 | Testnet rollout |
| Q3 2028 | Mainnet opt-in |
| Q1 2029 | Bridge integration + migration telemetry |
Effort estimate: 60 person-weeks.
Acceptance gate: First PQ-output UTXO created and spent on mainnet.
§B.11 EVM Precompile P3Q at Slot 0x012205
Stream ID: P3Q-PRECOMPILE
Owner: Lux EVM team
Current state:
- Slot
0x012205reserved per CLAUDE.md (P3Q "Post-Quantum Pulsar Proof"). - Partial coverage in LP-078 (
~/work/lux/lps/LP-078-evm-precompiles.md). - No dedicated LP for the precompile itself.
Target end state (Q3 2027):
~/work/lux/lps/LP-NNN-p3q-precompile.md: spec for input format (group_pk + message + Pulsar/single-party ML-DSA signature), gas cost (informed by §B.9 cost model), error cases, conformance vectors.- Implementation in
~/work/lux/evm/precompiles/(Go) +~/work/lux/luxcpp/cevm(C++ via cgo). - KAT vectors and conformance test suite.
- Decomplexed: P3Q is its own precompile slot, NOT bolted onto BLS or ZK precompiles (per CLAUDE.md discipline).
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2027 | P3Q LP draft | LP-NNN-p3q-precompile.md with input/output format, gas-cost model, error spec. |
| Q2 2027 | Implementation (Go + C++) | Behind feature flag; devnet only. |
| Q2 2027 | KAT vectors + conformance suite | ~/work/lux/evm/precompiles/p3q/test-vectors/. |
| Q3 2027 | Testnet rollout | Deployed; metered; observability dashboard. |
| Q4 2027 | Mainnet rollout (gated) | Available on mainnet behind StrictPQTime. |
Dependencies: §B.1 (Pulsar reference); §B.9 (C-Chain migration consumer).
Risks:
- Gas cost: ML-DSA verify is computationally heavy; gas pricing could undercut the precompile's utility. Mitigation: batch-verify multiple signatures in one precompile call (saves per-call overhead); measure actual gas-vs-time trajectory before mainnet.
Effort estimate: 25 person-weeks.
Acceptance gate: Mainnet block contains first transaction calling P3Q. Gas-vs-time stability over 1 month of mainnet traffic.
§B.12 Z-Chain PQ Accountability Layer
Stream ID: Z-CHAIN-PQ-IDENTITY
Owner: Lux Z-Chain team
Current state:
- LP-063 + LP-169 + LP-179 cover Z-Chain + PQ identity rollup.
- Z-Chain repo absent from
~/work/lux/zchain/(verified byls); spec exists in LPs only. - BLOCKERS.md flags
QuasarCert.MLDSAProofas not currently Groth16 (per-validator sigs with length prefixes; BN254 quantum exposure theoretical only because BN254 not actually in use).
Target end state (Q4 2028):
~/work/lux/zchain/repo with Z-Chain reference implementation.- Groth16 circuit (
zchain/circuits/pulsar-abort.circomor equivalent) for Pulsar identifiable-abort evidence aggregation. - L1 verifier accepts Groth16 proofs of Pulsar abort and slashes identified malicious parties.
- LP-169 finalized; LP-179 (
contract-auth-via-zchain-proof.md) wired to live Z-Chain. - BLS12-381 (PQ-vulnerable curve) phased out of the abort-evidence path; the post-quantum-secure pairing question is settled or hybridized.
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2027 | Z-Chain repo created | ~/work/lux/zchain/ with skeleton + LP-063 + LP-169 cross-refs. |
| Q3 2027 | Pulsar-abort circuit | Groth16 circuit for the abort-evidence aggregation identity. |
| Q4 2027 | L1 verifier | EVM precompile or contract verifying the Groth16 proof. |
| Q1 2028 | Devnet integration | Z-Chain rollup posts abort proofs; L1 slashes. |
| Q2 2028 | Testnet rollout | |
| Q3 2028 | Mainnet rollout | |
| Q4 2028 | LP-169 + LP-179 finalization | "Final" status in ~/work/lux/lps/. |
Dependencies: §B.1 Pulsar (abort-evidence semantics); §B.11 P3Q precompile.
Risks:
- Cryptographic: Groth16 over BN254 is not PQ-secure. If quantum adversary forges Groth16 proof, abort accountability degrades. Mitigation: PlonK over BLS12-381 (also not PQ-secure but stronger classically); long-term plan a PQ ZK system (STARK + FRI). State the classical-only assumption clearly in LP-169.
- Engineering: Z-Chain rollup is a substantial project orthogonal to the crypto-stack roadmap; this stream may need to land downstream of Z-Chain core readiness.
Effort estimate: 90 person-weeks (Z-Chain rollup work is its own beast; this is the cryptography subset).
Acceptance gate: First slashing event on mainnet driven by a Groth16 proof of Pulsar abort.
§B.13 TFHE / F-Chain Integration
Stream ID: TFHE-F-CHAIN
Owner: Lux FHE team
Current state:
- LP-013 + LP-066 + LP-067 + LP-068 + LP-134 + LP-137-FHE-* cover FHE / F-Chain.
- TFHE production reference in
~/work/lux/fhe/and~/work/luxcpp/fhe/(CPU + GPU via Metal/CUDA/WGSL). - M-Chain / F-Chain split per LP-134 in flight.
- Distributed bootstrap-key generation not yet implemented.
Target end state (Q3 2028):
- M-Chain hosts MPC ceremonies for FHE bootstrap-key generation (threshold TFHE).
- F-Chain hosts FHE compute on encrypted ciphertexts using the threshold-generated bootstrap key.
- LP-066 + LP-134 + LP-141 + LP-167 wired end-to-end.
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2027 | Threshold TFHE bootstrap-key DKG spec | Match LP-019 + LP-141 patterns. |
| Q2 2027 | Implementation (devnet) | Threshold bootstrap on devnet. |
| Q3 2027 | F-Chain compute on threshold-keyed ciphertexts | One worked example end-to-end (confidential-ERC-20 transfer). |
| Q1 2028 | Testnet | |
| Q3 2028 | Mainnet |
Dependencies: §B.4 LSS (for the reshare wrapper around TFHE bootstrap keys); §B.21 governance.
Risks:
- Performance: distributed TFHE bootstrap is expensive (10²-10³ ms per gate in MPC mode). May limit applicability to small circuits. Mitigation: focus on use cases where threshold bootstrap is a one-time setup cost (key custody), not per-operation.
Effort estimate: 60 person-weeks (within the FHE team's scope, not counted in central crypto budget).
Acceptance gate: First confidential-ERC-20 transfer on mainnet with threshold-generated bootstrap key.
§B.14 Mechanized Closure of Residual EC Axioms
Stream ID: EC-AXIOM-CLOSURE
Owner: Lux + formal-methods specialist (subcontractor)
Current state (2026-05-18): 71 residual axioms enumerated in
proof-axiom-inventory.md, distributed roughly as:
| Category | Count | Discharge plan |
|---|---|---|
| Stage-level byte-walk axioms (z, h on sign and combine sides) | 3 | Decompose via narrower sub-axioms (v8/v11/v12 pattern); some are open research (κ-loop) |
| Combine z extraction (aggregation shape + per-party PR) | 2 | Byte-walk through extraction; mechanical |
| w sub-stage axioms (combine + sign) | 2 | ExpandA + ExpandMask + mat_vec_mul; addressable with codec mechanization |
| w_low sub-stage axioms (combine + sign) | 2 | Decompose structurally |
| matrix_a / mask_y sub-axioms | 4 | Discharge after codec mechanization |
| Codec mu_input layout (3 combine ranges + 1 sign) | 4 | Discharge with byte-layout codec mechanization |
| Accepted-path no-reject axioms | 2 | OPEN RESEARCH — κ-loop probabilistic Hoare model |
| Lean-bridged algebraic axioms | 5 | OPEN RESEARCH — checked Lean↔EC translation, OR port Mathlib polynomial-Lagrange theory to EC |
| Pack/unpack signature roundtrip | 2 | Discharge with codec mechanization |
| Per-type codec round-trips, length axioms, well-formedness | ~21 | BBD-scale codec mechanization (6 person-months) |
| MLDSA65_Functional internals (norms, hint weight, etc.) | ~7 | Concretize types; mechanical |
| Memory / share / N4 structural axioms | ~17 | Decomposable; many already narrow |
Target end state (Q1 2029):
- proof-axiom-inventory.md drops from 71 to ≤ 15 (Lean-bridged + irreducible TCB-level axioms only).
- κ-loop probabilistic Hoare model published as a paper (CRYPTO / CCS / S&P paper) AND mechanized in EC.
- Bit-level FIPS 204 codec mechanization complete (matches BBD CRYPTO 2023 in scope).
- Checked Lean↔EC translation tool either built and applied to reduce Lean-bridged axiom count to 0, OR documented as out-of- scope (Lean bridges remain as 5 informational items, not residual axioms on the proof cone).
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2026 | Decompose combine_body_{w,h}_spec, sign_body_{z,w,h}_spec further |
v14-v16: narrower sub-axioms per ExpandA / ExpandMask / mat_vec_mul / MakeHint patterns. Mechanical engineering. |
| Q1 2027 | Codec mechanization start | Engage academic collaborator (Manuel Barbosa or equivalent). 6 person-months work plan. |
| Q1 2027 | κ-loop research kickoff | Engage formal-methods specialist; scoping doc for the probabilistic Hoare model. |
| Q3 2027 | Codec round-1 deliverables | sigEncode / sigDecode mechanized. ~5 axioms discharged. |
| Q4 2027 | κ-loop model first draft | Probabilistic-Hoare compiled in EC; first attempt at no-reject discharge. |
| Q1 2028 | Codec round-2 deliverables | encode_sk / decode_sk + per-type length identities. ~10 axioms discharged. |
| Q3 2028 | κ-loop model published | Paper + EC mechanization; both *_no_reject_* discharged. |
| Q4 2028 | Codec round-3 deliverables | All ~21 codec axioms either discharged or replaced with narrower sub-axioms ≤ 5. |
| Q1 2029 | Lean↔EC translation decision | Either build a checked translation artifact and discharge the 5 Lean bridges; OR formalize "Lean bridge as TCB item, not residual axiom" and update proof-claims.md. |
| Q1 2029 | Final AXIOM-INVENTORY count | ≤ 15 residual; proof-axiom-inventory.md v2.0 released. |
Dependencies: §B.1 Pulsar (this stream's deliverables flow into Pulsar's submission-package-shaped trust accounting); §B.2 Corona (will inherit the codec mechanization).
Risks:
- Research risk on κ-loop: no published mechanization of an ML-DSA rejection-sampling loop at this granularity. The work may not close cleanly in 12 person-months. Mitigation: define a fallback — if probabilistic Hoare logic for the κ-loop is intractable, leave the two no-reject axioms in the inventory and document them as irreducible-without-new-research; the absence of closure does not block submission.
- Research risk on Lean↔EC translation tool: no published tool exists. Building one would itself be a publishable contribution (likely CSF / POPL / CPP venue). Mitigation: pursue translation only if academic collaboration is funded; otherwise treat Lean bridges as a TCB item with check-script enforcement and document accordingly.
- Engineering risk on codec: BBD's Dilithium mechanization (CRYPTO 2023) is the comparison; their effort was ~6 person-months by a specialist team. Lux's codec mechanization could match that. Risk is on Lux finding a comparable specialist. Mitigation: engage academic collaborator (HACSPEC + Cryspen consortium, Charlie Jacomme at Inria, or HACL* / fstar team at Microsoft Research).
Effort estimate:
| Sub-task | Person-weeks |
|---|---|
| Decomposition engineering (stage-level + sub-stage) | 30 |
| Codec mechanization (BBD-scale) | 80 |
| κ-loop probabilistic Hoare model | 60 |
| Lean↔EC translation research / port | 40 (if pursued) |
| Total | 170-210 depending on translation choice |
Acceptance gate: proof-axiom-inventory.md count ≤ 15 (residual); first academic paper on the κ-loop model accepted at a top venue OR self-archived on IACR ePrint with positive review.
§B.15 External Cryptographic + Implementation + Side-Channel Audits
Stream ID: EXTERNAL-AUDITS
Owner: Lux security lead (engagement) + Lux crypto-engineering (remediation)
Current state:
- No external audit completed on Pulsar v0.1 submission package.
- Internal 4-red-agent + 1-scientist audit dated 2026-05 closed 13/13 blockers (BLOCKERS.md).
Target end state (Q3 2029):
- Three independent external audits completed:
- Cryptographic correctness + protocol design (Cryspen / NCC Group / Trail of Bits / Kudelski — pick two for redundancy).
- Implementation correctness (Rust + C + WASM production targets) — same lab pool.
- Side-channel / fault-injection (NCC Group hardware team / Rambus / Riscure / FortifyIQ).
- All critical / high findings remediated in shipping artifacts.
- Audit reports published with Lux response document.
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2026 | Audit Round 1 scoping | RFPs to three labs (cryptographic). |
| Q1 2027 | Audit Round 1 engagement | One lab engaged; 8-12 week engagement. |
| Q2 2027 | Audit Round 1 report | Findings delivered; severity classification; remediation tracker. |
| Q3 2027 | Audit Round 1 remediation | All C / H findings closed in main branch. |
| Q4 2027 | Audit Round 1 publication | Audit report + Lux response published in audits/cryptographic-round-1/. |
| Q1 2028 | Audit Round 2 scoping (implementation) | RFPs out for production-target audit. |
| Q2-Q3 2028 | Audit Round 2 engagement + report | |
| Q4 2028 | Audit Round 2 remediation + publication | |
| Q1 2029 | Audit Round 3 scoping (side-channel) | RFPs to hardware-side-channel labs. |
| Q2-Q3 2029 | Audit Round 3 engagement + report + remediation + publication |
Dependencies: §B.1, §B.5, §B.6, §B.8 (production-target readiness of each construction).
Risks:
- Lab availability: PQ-specialist labs are limited. Mitigation: engage in two waves; don't put all audits on one lab.
- Findings volume: external audits typically surface findings that internal audits missed. Mitigation: budget Q3 2027 remediation as a real workstream; don't treat audit report as a one-week task.
- Costs: USD 250-400 k per cryptographic audit, USD 100-300 k for implementation audits, USD 150-300 k for hardware-side-channel. Total roadmap audit budget: USD 0.9 M - 1.6 M.
Effort estimate: 90 person-weeks (engagement + remediation).
Acceptance gate: Three published audit reports; all C/H findings closed.
§B.16 NIST MPTC Standardization Track
Stream ID: NIST-MPTC-TRACK
Owner: Lux MPTC coordinator + outside policy contact (NIST liaison)
Current state:
- Pulsar v0.1 packaged for the 2026-11-16 deadline.
- No prior NIST submission contact.
Target end state (Q4 2029):
- Pulsar accepted to whatever NIST process round follows submission.
- Public-comment-response posted to the NIST mailing list addressing any community analysis.
- (Lux-controlled actions only — NIST ratification timing is NOT in Lux's control.)
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2026 | Submission tarball delivered | submission-2026-11-16 tag; tarball uploaded to NIST submission portal by 2026-11-16. |
| Q1 2027 | Submission acknowledgment | NIST acknowledges receipt; Lux publishes submission package mirror on github.com/luxfi/pulsar-mptc Releases. |
| Q2 2027 | Public-analysis monitoring | Track community analysis on the NIST MPTC mailing list and IACR ePrint. |
| Q3 2027 | Public response (round 1) | Lux response to any community-raised analysis. |
| Q4 2027 | Submission revision (if requested) | If NIST asks for clarifications, deliver submission-2027-XX package. |
| Q2 2028 | NIST workshop participation | Present Pulsar at NIST MPTC workshop (if held). |
| Q1 2029 | Round-2 submission (if NIST formats a round-2) | Update submission per NIST round-2 framework. |
| Q4 2029 | Standardization process continues | Continue as NIST's process dictates. |
Dependencies: §B.1 (post-submission proof work).
Risks (mostly out of Lux's control):
- NIST decision: NIST may decline to standardize Pulsar (or any threshold ML-DSA). Lux cannot control this. Mitigation: ensure the Pulsar IETF/CFRG track (§B.17) is independent of NIST's decision — IETF can publish a Pulsar RFC even if NIST does not standardize. The Lux production deployment also does not require NIST ratification.
- Round structure: NIST has not announced the round structure for MPTC (unlike PQC's 4-round process). The roadmap assumes a multi-round process by analogy; this could differ.
Effort estimate: 25 person-weeks (mostly coordination + response writing).
Acceptance gate: Submission delivered; NIST acknowledgment received; public-comment response published.
§B.17 IETF / CFRG Standardization Track
Stream ID: IETF-CFRG-TRACK
Owner: Lux IETF liaison (engages CFRG mailing list)
Current state:
ietf-draft-skeleton.mdis a complete Internet-Draft (no longer skeleton — covers all required sections through §19 + appendices).
Target end state (Q4 2029):
draft-hanzo-pulsar-threshold-mldsa-NNadopted as CFRG working-group document (draft-irtf-cfrg-pulsar-threshold-mldsa-NN).- RFC publication (target — outside Lux's control).
- Parallel CFRG drafts for Corona, FROST (Lux profile), CGGMP21 (Lux profile), BLS (Lux profile), X-Wing-Sig.
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2026 | Pulsar -00 to datatracker | Submit draft-hanzo-pulsar-threshold-mldsa-00 to IETF datatracker. |
| Q1 2027 | CFRG mailing-list review | Initial review thread; respond to feedback. |
| Q2 2027 | -01 revision | Per feedback. Submit X-Wing-Sig -00. |
| Q3 2027 | -02 revision | Submit Corona -00. |
| Q4 2027 | CFRG adoption call (Pulsar) | Request adoption as WG document. |
| Q1 2028 | LSS -00 submitted | |
| Q2 2028 | FROST Lux profile -00 submitted | |
| Q4 2028 | CGGMP21 Lux profile -00 + BLS Lux profile -00 submitted | |
| Q2 2029 | Pulsar working-group draft milestones | If adopted, follow WG editor cadence. |
| Q4 2029 | Multiple drafts in WG advancement |
Dependencies: All §B.4-§B.8 streams (each contributes a draft).
Risks (out of Lux's control):
- CFRG adoption: CFRG may decline to adopt Pulsar; or may prefer a different threshold-ML-DSA construction. Mitigation: respond to comparison-with-alternatives questions in the draft; engage the research community via IACR ePrint preprint.
- WG editor velocity: IETF WG processes are slow (years). Mitigation: decouple Lux production deployment from RFC publication.
Effort estimate: 30 person-weeks (across all drafts; mostly response writing + editor cycles).
Acceptance gate: At least one Lux-authored draft adopted by CFRG as a working-group document; multiple drafts in active flight.
§B.18 FIPS 140-3 Module Validation Track
Stream ID: FIPS-140-3-MODULE
Owner: Lux KMS / module-engineering team
Current state:
- No Lux module currently submitted to CMVP.
- Pulsar reference implementation is NOT a FIPS module; it's a reference algorithm.
Target end state (Q4 2029):
- At least one Lux module packaging Pulsar (e.g., Lux KMS HSM) submitted to CMVP and progressing toward CAVP-validated → CMVP-validated.
- (CMVP certificate issuance is outside Lux's control and the queue is 12-24 months at current cadence.)
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Q3 2027 | FIPS 140-3 module scope definition |
| Q4 2027 | Lab engagement (atsec / Acumen / Leidos) |
| Q1 2028 | Module packaging + documentation |
| Q2 2028 | Lab-conducted FIPS 140-3 testing |
| Q3 2028 | Submission to CMVP |
| 2029+ | CMVP queue (cert issuance outside Lux control) |
Effort estimate: 60 person-weeks.
Acceptance gate: CMVP submission with a tracker number. Cert issuance is the CMVP's clock.
§B.19 ACVP / CAVP Algorithm Validation Track
Stream ID: ACVP-CAVP-TRACK
Owner: Lux KMS / module-engineering team
Current state:
- Reference implementation cross-validated against three independent
ML-DSA implementations (pq-crystals, circl, BoringSSL FIPS) — see
evaluation.md§4. - No ACVP/CAVP lab engagement yet.
Target end state (Q3 2028):
- ACVP/CAVP certificate issued for Pulsar reference implementation ML-DSA-65 conformance.
- Same for ML-KEM-768 + X-Wing (if applicable to Lux's CAVP scope).
- Same for SLH-DSA SHAKE-192s (if Magnetar / SLH-DSA usage matures in time).
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Q3 2027 | ACVP lab engagement (atsec / Acumen / Leidos) |
| Q4 2027 | ACVP test campaign |
| Q1 2028 | CAVP certificate (target — outside Lux control) |
| Q2 2028 | Cert documented in fips-204-traceability.md |
| Q3 2028 | ML-KEM + X-Wing campaigns (if in scope) |
Effort estimate: 25 person-weeks.
Acceptance gate: CAVP certificate number recorded in
fips-204-traceability.md §13.
§B.20 Patent Prosecution
Stream ID: PATENT-PROSECUTION
Owner: Lux legal counsel + external patent attorney
Current state:
patents.md(royalty-free grant) published.patent-claims.md(21 numbered claims, 5 claim groups) ready for attorney prep.- No provisional filed yet.
Target end state (Q4 2029):
- US provisional application filed BEFORE 2026-11-16 (preserves priority before NIST submission becomes public).
- PCT international application filed within 12 months of provisional.
- EPO + national-phase entries at 30-month PCT deadline.
- Continuation / divisional strategy executed.
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | Attorney engagement |
| Q3 2026 | US provisional drafted from patent-claims.md |
| Before 2026-11-16 | US provisional filed (CRITICAL — preserves priority) |
| Q4 2027 | PCT international filed (within 12 months of provisional) |
| Q3 2029 | National-phase entries (PCT 30-month deadline) |
| Ongoing | Continuations for v8 Lean-bridged aggregation identity, v6 ExternalMu layout, N4 reshare algorithm |
Dependencies: patent-claims.md (already drafted).
Risks:
- Priority loss: NIST submission counts as public disclosure under 35 USC §102. Filing the provisional AFTER the NIST submission loses foreign-filing rights. Mitigation: file the US provisional BEFORE 2026-11-16 (NIST submission deadline).
- Cost: USD 50-150 k for provisional + PCT + 5-7 jurisdiction national-phase entries.
Effort estimate: 10 person-weeks (Lux side; attorney drives).
Acceptance gate: US provisional filed; PCT filed; national-phase entries on track.
§B.21 Documentation + Governance
Stream ID: DOCS-GOVERNANCE
Owner: Lux crypto-suite maintainer ([email protected])
Current state:
lps/CRYPTO-CANONICAL.mdis the master crypto wiring doc.pulsar-mptc/docs/information-architecture.mddocuments three-axis taxonomy.- LPs 168-179 mirror Hanzo HIPs 0077-0104 for E2E PQ.
pulsar-mptc/docs/suite.md+pulsar-mptc/docs/suite.mdare master indexes.
Target end state (Q4 2029):
- Every construction in the Lux crypto suite has its own LP-NNN
(canonical spec), repo (
~/work/lux/<name>/), and (when production) submission-package. lps/CRYPTO-CANONICAL.mdstays in sync with implementation truth.- Quarterly review cadence: each quarter, the crypto-suite maintainer publishes a single LP-NNN status doc updating progress against this ROADMAP.
Per-quarter cadence: end-of-quarter review and LP updates.
Effort estimate: 20 person-weeks across 3 years.
Acceptance gate: lps/CRYPTO-CANONICAL.md matches grep of repo
state; no orphan crypto code lacking an LP.
§B.22 Production Library Targets
Stream ID: PROD-TARGETS
Owner: Lux production-eng + bindings team
Current state:
- Pulsar reference implementation in Go (
ref/go/). - Corona reference implementation in Go (
~/work/lux/corona/). - LuxCpp + Lux-crypto in C++ + CUDA + Metal + WGSL.
- No Rust crate, no standalone C library + FFI for Pulsar, no WASM build, no no_std embedded target.
Target end state (Q3 2028):
lux-pulsarRust crate (no_std capable, audited).libpulsar.soC library +pulsar.hFFI (audited).pulsar.wasmWASM build (audited).pulsar-no_stdembedded target (no allocator, fixed-size buffers).- Language bindings: Python (via cffi), JS/TS (via WASM), Java (via JNI).
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Q2 2027 | Rust crate v0.1 (alpha) |
| Q3 2027 | C library + FFI |
| Q4 2027 | WASM build |
| Q1 2028 | no_std embedded port |
| Q2 2028 | Python + JS + Java bindings |
| Q3 2028 | All targets audited |
Dependencies: §B.15 (external audits).
Risks: each language target is a fresh CT analysis. Mitigation: each target ships its own jasmin-ct or dudect verification before v1.0 tag.
Effort estimate: 70 person-weeks.
Acceptance gate: All targets have CI-gated CT checks; published to crates.io / npm / PyPI / Maven Central with semver.
§B.23 Ecosystem Integration
Stream ID: ECOSYSTEM-INTEGRATION
Owner: Lux developer-relations + bridge / consensus consumer teams
Current state:
- Pulsar used by Lux Quasar consensus, KMS, MPC.
- Not yet integrated with external ecosystems (Cosmos, Substrate, Sigstore, etc.).
Target end state (Q4 2029):
- Solidity verifier contract for Pulsar signatures (gas-cost-tuned).
- Cosmos SDK module for Pulsar threshold validator signing.
- Substrate pallet for Pulsar consensus.
- Tendermint signer plugin for Pulsar.
- Sigstore experiment: Pulsar as a Rekor signing identity.
- Validator-set rotation playbook (Class N4 reshare in production).
Per-quarter milestones:
| Quarter | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Q2 2027 | Solidity verifier contract (gas-cost tuned) |
| Q4 2027 | Cosmos SDK module (community contribution welcomed) |
| Q1 2028 | Substrate pallet |
| Q2 2028 | Tendermint signer plugin |
| Q3 2028 | Sigstore experiment |
| Q4 2028 | Validator-set rotation playbook |
Effort estimate: 40 person-weeks (mostly community / outreach).
Acceptance gate: At least one external project adopts Pulsar in production (signal: not Lux-internal).
§C Quarterly View
This table cross-references the work streams above. Effort is the sum of person-weeks targeted in that quarter across all active streams. Streams overlap; effort sums approximate the staffing target.
| Quarter | Active streams | Key deliverable milestones | Dependencies satisfied | Effort (person-weeks) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2026 | B.1, B.2, B.8, B.14, B.15, B.16, B.17, B.20 | NIST MPTC submission delivered (2026-11-16); X-Wing-Sig LP + draft -00; US provisional patent filed before 2026-11-16; Corona spec extracted; codec decomposition v14 | NIST submission deadline | 35 |
| Q1 2027 | B.1, B.2, B.4, B.5, B.6, B.13, B.14, B.15, B.16, B.17, B.21, B.22 | External audit Round 1 engagement; κ-loop research kickoff; codec mechanization start; FROST + LSS spec extraction; Z-Chain repo created; Solidity verifier prototype | First external audit lab engaged | 75 |
| Q2 2027 | B.1, B.2, B.5, B.8, B.11, B.13, B.14, B.21, B.22 | Audit Round 1 report; Pulsar EC sub-stage decomposition v15; FROST Jasmin sources; P3Q precompile impl; threshold TFHE bootstrap DKG; Rust crate v0.1 | Lean composition theorem for X-Wing-Sig drafted | 75 |
| Q3 2027 | B.1, B.2, B.3, B.4, B.5, B.6, B.7, B.11, B.13, B.14, B.16, B.18 | Audit Round 1 remediation; FROST IETF draft; ACVP lab engagement; FIPS module scoping; P3Q testnet; Z-Chain pulsar-abort circuit; codec round-1 axioms discharged | Corona EC scaffolding done | 80 |
| Q4 2027 | B.1, B.6, B.8, B.11, B.13, B.14, B.18, B.20 | CGGMP21 EC scaffolding; X-Wing-Sig external review; P3Q mainnet rollout; PCT international filed; κ-loop model first draft | PCT filing deadline | 70 |
| Q1 2028 | B.1, B.6, B.9, B.10, B.12, B.13, B.14, B.18, B.19, B.20, B.22 | ACVP/CAVP certificate (target); C-Chain testnet PQ-native; X-Chain devnet impl; Z-Chain devnet integration; FIPS module packaging; codec round-2 axioms; Rust no_std port | First ACVP cert target | 80 |
| Q2 2028 | B.1, B.5, B.7, B.8, B.9, B.10, B.12, B.15, B.18, B.20, B.22 | FIPS module submission to CMVP; C-Chain mainnet PQ-native opt-in; BLS Lux profile IETF draft; Audit Round 2 engagement; bindings released | First mainnet PQ-account live | 80 |
| Q3 2028 | B.1, B.3, B.6, B.9, B.10, B.13, B.14, B.15, B.18, B.19, B.22, B.23 | κ-loop model paper submitted; F-Chain mainnet threshold-TFHE; X-Chain mainnet PQ; CGGMP21 IETF draft; production targets audited; Sigstore integration | F-Chain TFHE mainnet | 80 |
| Q4 2028 | B.1, B.3, B.10, B.12, B.14, B.15, B.21, B.23 | Magnetar v0.1 package; Z-Chain mainnet PQ identity; codec round-3 axiom closure; Audit Round 2 remediation; Magnetar paper draft; validator-rotation playbook | Mainnet Z-Chain abort proofs | 75 |
| Q1 2029 | B.1, B.10, B.14, B.15, B.20 | X-Chain mainnet bridge integration; AXIOM-INVENTORY v2.0 (≤ 15 residual); Audit Round 3 scoping; national-phase patent entries | All PQ-native on mainnet | 65 |
| Q2 2029 | B.1, B.15, B.16, B.17 | Audit Round 3 engagement; CFRG WG draft milestones; multiple drafts active | 60 | |
| Q3 2029 | B.1, B.15, B.19 | Audit Round 3 report + remediation; ACVP cert for ML-KEM + SLH-DSA additions | 50 | |
| Q4 2029 | B.1, B.16, B.17, B.21 | NIST process continuation; multiple CFRG WG drafts in flight; roadmap retrospective | 40 |
Total effort across 13 quarters: ~890 person-weeks (sum of quarterly columns; some double-counting across streams). Headcount implication: 6-8 senior crypto-FM engineers at full staffing across the 3 years.
§D Critical-Path Analysis
§D.1 Longest dependency chain
The single longest dependency chain in this roadmap is the production PQ-native chain:
Pulsar v0.1 NIST submission (2026-11-16)
↓
External cryptographic audit Round 1 (Q1 2027 - Q3 2027, ~6 months)
↓
ACVP/CAVP engagement (Q3 2027 - Q1 2028, ~6 months, external timing)
↓
ACVP cert issuance (Q1-Q2 2028, lab-controlled)
↓
FIPS 140-3 module packaging + lab testing (Q2 2028, internal + lab)
↓
FIPS 140-3 module CMVP submission (Q3 2028)
↓
CMVP certificate issuance (2029+, queue-dependent — outside Lux control)
↓
C-Chain PQ-native deployment with FIPS-validated module (2029+)
Wall-clock floor: ~3 years from submission to FIPS-validated module running on C-Chain mainnet — and the last leg's timing is controlled by CMVP queue, not Lux. If CMVP queue is 24 months instead of 12, the endpoint slips to 2030+.
§D.2 Cryptographic-research blockers gating everything else
These three open-research items each gate substantial downstream work:
- κ-loop probabilistic Hoare model. Blocks: full discharge of
the two
*_no_reject_on_accepted_honest_layoutaxioms. Without closure, proof-axiom-inventory.md keeps these two items indefinitely. No published reduction at this scale exists in the EasyCrypt literature. Estimate: 60 person-weeks of dedicated specialist work + paper publication. - Bit-level FIPS 204 codec mechanization. Blocks: full discharge of ~21 codec round-trip axioms. Comparable to Barbosa-Barthe-Dupressoir CRYPTO 2023 Dilithium mechanization (~6 person-months for a specialist team). Lux + academic-collaborator engagement required.
- Checked Lean↔EasyCrypt translation tooling. Blocks: discharge of the 5 Lean-bridged algebraic axioms as derived lemmas inside EC. No published tool exists. Building one would itself be a publishable paper (likely CSF / POPL / CPP venue). Alternative: leave Lean bridges as TCB items with check-script enforcement; the proof is no weaker, but the trust framing differs. Decision deferred to Q1 2029 in stream B.14.
§D.3 Engineering-bottleneck items
These are items where engineering work is the rate-limiter, not research:
- Rust crate is required for ecosystem integration (Cosmos SDK, Substrate pallet, Sigstore). Blocked on FFI design freeze + audit. Rust crate target Q2 2027.
- P3Q precompile mainnet rollout blocks C-Chain native PQ migration. Q4 2027 mainnet target (per stream B.11).
- Corona EC proof scaffolding is the bottleneck for Corona submission packaging. Q1 2027 milestone in stream B.2.
- Pulsar Jasmin threshold sources are mature; the bottleneck for Corona is whether the libjade R-LWE single-party baseline exists (no, must be written).
- CFRG adoption of Pulsar draft is outside Lux's engineering control but blocks the IETF stream. Q4 2027 adoption-call target.
§E Risk Register
| Risk | Probability | Impact | Mitigation | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NIST does not standardize Pulsar | Medium | Medium — Lux production deployment does not require NIST ratification, but FIPS 140-3 path is weakened | Pursue IETF/CFRG track independently; ensure Lux mainnet deployment is operational regardless | Lux MPTC coordinator |
| IETF / CFRG does not adopt Pulsar draft as WG | Medium | Low — Lux can publish as Independent Stream or via different SDO | Engage CFRG mailing list early; respond to comparison-with-alternatives feedback | Lux IETF liaison |
| FIPS 140-3 module certificate slips to 2030+ | High | Medium — CMVP queue is slow; this is structural | Treat certificate issuance as outside Lux control; document submission status as the Lux-controlled artifact | Lux KMS team |
| κ-loop probabilistic Hoare model intractable in 12 months | Medium | Low — axioms remain in inventory, but the inventory is honest about that; no false claim of closure | Define fallback in stream B.14; ship submission package with operational acceptance bound | Lux + FM specialist |
| Codec mechanization (BBD-scale) does not complete by Q4 2028 | Medium | Low — partial discharge is still axiom-reduction; full closure can slip | Phase the mechanization (signature encode/decode first; per-type round-trips later); commit to partial-closure deliverables | Lux + academic |
| External audit surfaces critical / high findings affecting Pulsar correctness | High | High — could invalidate Class N1 byte-equality claim | Budget Q3 2027 remediation as a real workstream; maintain CI for regression prevention | Lux + audit lab |
| External audit surfaces architectural design flaw | Low | Very High — could require protocol redesign | Internal red-team rounds before external engagement (already done 2026-05); maintain BLOCKERS.md discipline |
Lux crypto-engineering |
| Patent counsel does not file US provisional before 2026-11-16 | Low | Very High — loses foreign-filing rights; NIST submission becomes 35 USC §102 prior art | Critical-path item; engage counsel Q3 2026 with explicit calendar deadline | Lux legal |
| Magnetar research direction does not converge into a spec | Medium | Low — Tier 3 is research; non-convergence is honest framing, not failure | Treat Magnetar as research not engineering; downgrade gracefully if construction is impractical | Lux + academic |
| Lean Mathlib breaking change invalidates bridges | Medium | Medium — would force re-pinning Lean toolchain or porting Mathlib version | Pin Lean toolchain at known-good commit; CI canary against Mathlib head | Lux FM |
| EasyCrypt soundness bug discovered | Low | Very High — would invalidate the EC proof if the bug is in the relevant tactic | Cross-validate critical theorems via byphoare AND equiv; track EC bug reports |
Lux FM |
| C-Chain PQ migration breaks legacy wallets | Medium | High — could brick user accounts during transition | Soft-fork-first migration; legacy ECDSA never deprecated absent hard-fork vote; long transition window | Lux EVM |
| P3Q precompile gas pricing too expensive for adoption | Medium | Medium — would limit C-Chain PQ-native usage | Batch-verify multiple signatures per call; revisit pricing post-mainnet | Lux EVM |
| Z-Chain abort circuit's classical-only ZK is broken by quantum | Low (5-15 yr horizon) | High when realized | Begin long-term plan for PQ-ZK (STARK + FRI) integration; state classical-only assumption clearly in LP-169 | Lux Z-Chain |
| Threshold TFHE bootstrap is impractical (performance) | High | Medium — limits FHE applicability | Focus on use cases where bootstrap is a one-time cost; treat per-operation bootstrap as v0.2+ goal | Lux FHE |
| Lab availability constrained (ACVP + FIPS 140-3 + audits all competing for same labs) | High | Medium — slips milestones in B.15, B.18, B.19 | Engage labs in parallel; line up alternates | Lux security lead |
| Senior crypto-FM specialist hiring difficulty | High | High — the κ-loop and codec work both require specialists | Engage academic collaborators (HACSPEC + Cryspen consortium, INRIA, MPI-SP) as a fallback to internal hiring | Lux engineering management |
| Audit budget exceeds USD 1.6 M over 3 years | Medium | Medium — could force scope reduction | Stage audits in 3 rounds rather than 1 big-bang; prioritize Pulsar Round 1 over rounds 2 + 3 | Lux finance |
§F What This Roadmap Explicitly Does NOT Promise
Per the honest-no-overclaiming discipline:
- This roadmap does NOT promise NIST ratification of Pulsar. NIST has its own process and its own analysis; Lux can submit and respond, but the standardization decision is NIST's. The roadmap describes Lux's submission cadence, not NIST's decision cadence.
- This roadmap does NOT promise IETF RFC publication of any draft. IETF working groups have their own adoption and editor cadence; we describe Lux's draft-submission and revision activity, not RFC issuance.
- This roadmap does NOT promise FIPS 140-3 certificate issuance. CMVP queue timing is external; we promise submission, not issuance.
- This roadmap does NOT promise ACVP/CAVP certificate issuance. Lab availability and test campaign duration are external; we promise lab engagement, not cert issuance.
- This roadmap does NOT promise that ML-DSA's lattice hardness
assumption is settled. FIPS 204's analysis is taken at face value
per
proof-claims.md§3.1. If a future cryptanalytic break weakens M-LWE / M-SIS, Pulsar inherits that risk — the EC proof artifact is implementation-correctness, not hardness. - This roadmap does NOT promise that 100% of residual axioms will be mechanically closed by Q4 2029. Some are open research (κ-loop; Lean↔EC translation); some are gated on multi-person-month specialist work (codec mechanization). The target is ≤ 15 residual axioms; reaching 0 is a longer-term goal.
- This roadmap does NOT promise that every quarterly milestone will hit on time. Research projects slip, audits surface findings that require rework, external dependencies have their own clocks, and senior specialist hiring is hard. Plan for slip; prioritize Q4 2026 NIST submission, US provisional filing, and external-audit engagement as the unconditional commitments.
- This roadmap does NOT promise that Magnetar will reach production-ready threshold SLH-DSA. Magnetar is research-track. Threshold SLH-DSA may be impractical at FIPS 205's parameter sets; if so, the roadmap downgrades Magnetar accordingly.
- This roadmap does NOT promise that Z-Chain PQ-identity rollup will be quantum-secure. Groth16 over BN254 is classically secure but quantum-vulnerable. A future PQ-ZK migration (STARK + FRI) is on the roadmap conceptually but not concretely scheduled within 3 years.
- This roadmap does NOT promise that the C-Chain / X-Chain PQ migration will be complete by end of Q4 2029. It promises that PQ-native account types are live; legacy ECDSA accounts may persist for years (decades) past the roadmap horizon.
- This roadmap does NOT promise zero-incident execution. Critical
security findings will be discovered; the discipline is rapid
remediation and transparent disclosure (per
SECURITY.md). - This roadmap does NOT promise that audit findings will all be "informational". External audits typically surface critical / high findings even on hardened code. The promise is remediation cadence, not finding absence.
§G Concrete Next-30-Days Actions (As Of 2026-05-18)
Regardless of the multi-year plan, these items must complete in the next 30 days:
G.1 Patent priority preservation
- Engage patent counsel within 7 days. Recommended firm: Cooley LLP
or Knobbe Martens (PQ patent experience) — alternates: Wilson Sonsini,
Fenwick & West. Brief them on
patent-claims.mdand patents.md. - File US provisional within 14 days (so anchor date is well
before 2026-11-16 NIST submission). Draft from
patent-claims.mdClaim Groups A, B, C, D, E. Filing fee USD 320 (small entity) + attorney draft. - Inventor identification. Lux Industries cryptography team
inventors per
patent-claims.md§0. Confirm + sign IP assignment agreements.
G.2 NIST MPTC submission preparation
- Cut release-candidate tag within 14 days:
submission-rc-2026-11-16-01from currentmain. Validatescripts/build.sh+scripts/check-high-assurance.shscripts/test.sh+scripts/bench.shall green on a fresh clone.
- Reviewer-mirror checklist: confirm
spec/pulsar.pdfbuilds reproducibly,vectors/regenerates deterministically from the committed seed, thesubmission-tag references are consistent. - Final pass on proof-axiom-inventory.md — re-grep
grep -rEn "^axiom\s+\w" proofs/easycrypt/and confirm the document's enumerated count matches the raw grep. Currently 71 axioms; document text claims "~36 named axioms on the corollary cone"; reconcile or explain the discrepancy. - Wait period: do NOT cut the final
submission-2026-11-16tag until US provisional is filed.
G.3 External audit scoping
- Issue three audit RFPs within 30 days. Recommended labs:
- Cryspen (
[email protected]) — strong HACL* / formal-methods adjacency; ideal for the proof-artifact-led portion. - NCC Group cryptography practice (
[email protected]) — hardware-side-channel partner for B.15 Round 3. - Trail of Bits (
[email protected]) — implementation focus. - Alternate: Kudelski Security (
[email protected]), Atredis Partners, Quarkslab. Scope each RFP: Pulsar v0.1 submission package (spec + ref impl + EC proofs + Jasmin sources + KAT vectors). Budget: USD 250-400 k per audit. Engagement: Q1 2027 start.
- Cryspen (
G.4 IETF / CFRG engagement
- Submit
draft-hanzo-pulsar-threshold-mldsa-00to IETF datatracker within 30 days. Convertietf-draft-skeleton.mdfrom Markdown to XML2RFC v3 viammarkorkramdown-rfc. Author block: Lux Industries cryptography team. Expiration date: 6 months from submit. - Post Pulsar announcement to CFRG mailing list (
[email protected]) on the same day as draft submission. Subject:[CFRG] Pulsar — threshold ML-DSA-65 with byte-identical FIPS 204 output. Reference the draft + the github repo. Invite review.
G.5 Public-channel readiness
- Open public GitHub Discussions at
https://github.com/luxfi/pulsar-mptc/discussionswith categories:nist-submission,proofs,magnetar,corona,general-q-and-a. Pin a "Reviewer Onboarding" thread with theSUBMISSION.mdreading order. - Publish blog post / announcement on
lux.networkand IACR ePrint (IACR ePrint preprint number assigned once submitted). Tie to the NIST submission deadline.
G.6 Stream B.1 immediate sub-tasks (within 30 days)
- Begin codec decomposition v14 (
stage-level → narrower sub-axioms for combine_body_h_spec) in a feature branch. Land within 30 days. No external dependency; mechanical engineering. Trust footprint drops by 1 axiom. - Document discrepancy between proof-axiom-inventory.md "~36 axioms"
and
grepraw count of 71. Likely explanation: 71 includes internal axioms not on the corollary cone (MLDSA65_Functional internals, share-structure axioms). Update proof-axiom-inventory.md §0 trust-footprint summary table to reconcile.
G.7 Critical-path summary
The unconditional commitments in the next 30 days:
- Engage patent counsel (week 1)
- File US provisional (before week 3)
- Issue audit RFPs (week 4)
- Submit IETF draft -00 (by week 4)
Everything else is desirable but can slip by ≤ 30 days without invalidating the Q4 2026 NIST submission deadline.
§H Roadmap Maintenance
This document is the authoritative crypto-stack roadmap. It supersedes
prior ad-hoc planning in suite.md §"Recommended next-quarter
work plan" and suite.md §"Equivalent-packaging roadmap".
Update cadence:
- End-of-quarter: roadmap maintainer publishes a 1-page status update citing this document with green/yellow/red status per stream.
- Mid-year: full roadmap revision; re-estimate effort, re-prioritize risks, update milestone dates.
- Each NIST / IETF / FIPS round: insert a status row in the relevant stream's milestone table.
Where to track progress:
- Per-stream progress: each stream's "Acceptance gate" item is a github milestone in the relevant repo.
- Cross-stream progress:
lps/CRYPTO-CANONICAL.mdupdates per quarter. - Audit findings:
audits/<lab>-<year>/findings.mdper engagement. - External-body status:
external/{nist,ietf,fips140,acvp}/status.md.
Document metadata
- Name:
roadmap.md - Version: v1.0 (initial)
- Date: 2026-05-18
- Maintainer:
[email protected] - Companion documents:
suite.md,suite.md,information-architecture.md,SUBMISSION.md,proof-axiom-inventory.md,proof-claims.md,tcb.md,fips-204-traceability.md,BLOCKERS.md,patents.md,patent-claims.md,evaluation.md,ietf-draft-skeleton.md,magnetar.md,x-wing-sig.md,lps/CRYPTO-CANONICAL.md, LPs 019, 020, 062, 063, 066, 070, 072, 073, 075, 077, 078, 110, 115, 134, 141, 154, 155, 167, 168-180. - License: Apache-2.0 (consistent with
LICENSE).