As quantum risks grow, Naoris launches the Post-Quantum Blockchain
The Naoris protocol launched its mainnet by introducing a layer-1 blockchain designed to use post-quantum cryptography for transaction authentication and network security. The network is live with limited invitation-only participation, allowing early adopters to run validator nodes and conduct transactions.
According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, cryptographic standards finalized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are being integrated to address risks in existing blockchains that current encryption methods may be vulnerable to over time.
Before Mainnet, the test network of the protocol carried out more than 100 million transactions and identified hundreds of millions of threats. According to the project, activity covers millions of wallets and nodes.
The system uses a consensus model called distributed proof of security (dPoSec) to verify transactions at nodes, while the NAORIS token is intended to support network operations as the economic model evolves.
The release will begin with a restricted group of validators and partners, with wider access expected to expand in stages.
The project enlists advisors with experience in cybersecurity, government and enterprise technology, and is backed by investors including Draper Associates.
Related: Is Bitcoin's $450B Vulnerable to Quantum Risk? Analysts weigh in.
New research suggests that quantum computing may arrive sooner than expected.
The launch comes as advanced assumptions of quantum computing, which uses qubits and quantum states to process data like classical computers, are trying to break out of existing cryptography standards.
Quantum computers may need less resources than previously thought to break blockchain encryption, according to a new Google study released on Monday. The study found that fewer than 500,000 physical qubits could crack systems holding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), roughly 20 times less than previously estimated.
The findings indicate a short timeline for quantum risk, with Justin Drake, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation estimating at least a 10% chance of a quantum computer recovering a private key by 2032.
California Institute of Technology researchers working with Oratomic came to a similar conclusion, finding that recent improvements to error correction (which reduces the number of qubits needed to stabilize a computation) could reduce the requirements for functional systems by 10,000 to 20,000 qubits, millions lower than previously estimated.
Based on these reductions, a viable quantum computer could be in place by around 2030, the researchers said.
Blockchain developers are starting to respond. In January, developers in the Solana ecosystem introduced a quantum-proof vault that uses hash-based signatures to generate new keys for each transaction, reducing the vulnerability of public keys.
In the year On March 24, developers from the Ethereum Foundation launched a “Post-Quantum Ethereum” resource center outlining plans to improve the network's cryptography by targeting protocol-level changes in 2029, highlighting the multi-year complexity of such a transition.
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