Name: How Quantum Computers Could Actually Steal Your Bitcoin
Uploaded: 2025-12-31T15:16:00+00:00
Duration: 1 h 14 min 11 s
Description: Jonas Nick and Mikhail Komarov join Marty to break down their new research paper on hash-based signature schemes for Bitcoin. They explain why quantum computers pose a real threat to Bitcoin's current

19 days ago

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Podcasts

Jonas Nick and Mikhail Komarov join Marty to break down their new research paper on hash-based signature schemes for Bitcoin. They explain why quantum computers pose a real threat to Bitcoin's current elliptic curve cryptography and how SHA-256-based signatures offer a conservative, quantum-resistant alternative. The conversation covers the trade-offs between signature size and verification time, why NIST's Sphincs+ standard needs Bitcoin-specific optimizations, and how these changes would impact HD wallets, multisig setups, and address reuse. A technical but accessible look at preparing Bitcoin for a post-quantum future.

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Mikhail on Twitter: https://x.com/kudinov_mikhail
The paper: https://eprint.iacr.org/2025/2203.pdf

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0:00 - Intro
0:32 - Explaining hash based sigs
5:20 - Post-quantum
9:49 - SPHINCS+
16:43 - Signature size
19:51 - Bitkey & Obscura
22:12 - Potential optimizations
28:11 - Stateless sigs
31:20 - HD wallets
36:56 - SLNT & SOTE
39:38 - Other sig schemes
44:11 - How close is quantum?
51:02 - How to transition
1:02:20 - Dangers of haste