Dogecoin developers start preparing for threat of quantum computers
Dogecoin developers are thinking about how to prepare against the quantum threat.
A Dogecoin Foundation developer said that progress had been made on flagging post-quantum transactions.
The crypto space is torn on how to best prepare for the hypothetical threat.
The threat of quantum computers hasn’t just got the Bitcoin and Ethereum communities worried — Dogecoin developers are jumping on board now too.
Ed Tubbs, Dogecoin Foundation developer, wrote on X on Friday that the teams are working on ways to send quantum-proof transactions on the second biggest proof of work blockchain.
“We’re still in the early experimental phase, but it's exciting to see real post-quantum proofs appearing on mainnet,” wrote Tubbs.
Quantum computers are still experimental but some in the crypto community have sounded the alarm about hypothetical advancements in the machines that could in the future be able to break Bitcoin’s cryptography.
Google researchers in March said that improvements in quantum computers may allow them to be able to break the cryptography protecting major cryptocurrencies in just nine minutes.
Flagging quantum-safe transactions
Tubbs said that the latest advancement will allow users of the Dogecoin network to send a quantum-safe transaction.
The method works by embedding a compact cryptographic fingerprint — known as a commitment — into a standard transaction.
A second transaction then reveals the full post-quantum signature on-chain, with the small amount of data stored in the witnesses.
While still in an experimental phase, the work shows, according to Tubbs, that eventually users of the Dogecoin network will be able to prove they have the post-quantum keys for their addresses.
Still, the crypto network is still not protected against the threat of quantum computers and the blockchain would need a full upgrade to be quantum-proof.
What Bitcoin and Ethereum communities are doing
Hayk Tepanyan, founder of BlueQubit, a quantum computing software developer, told DL News that cryptographically relevant quantum computers could be a reality in just three to five years.
Still, the industry is torn on how best blockchains should prepare.
Bitcoin treasury Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor, has said that while developers should get ready, the warnings are overblown.
But Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, in February proposed a “quantum roadmap” to protect the blockchain from encryption-cracking computers.
