Check out the thread below to learn about some of our initiatives, starting with OP_CHECKSHRINCS. 🧵
OP_CHECKSHRINCS is a proposed opcode for verifying SHRINCS, a hash-based post-quantum signature scheme.
At 7x smaller than the NIST standard, it's small enough to actually work on Bitcoin.
https://blog.blockstream.com/op_checkshrincs-a-hash-based-signature-opcode-for-post-quantum-bitcoin/
Hash-based signatures are the near-term answer. Lattices are a strong potential long-term play: eventually ~50% smaller signatures and faster verification, and unlike hash-based they preserve multisig, threshold, and HD wallets. Here's how they work:
https://blog.blockstream.com/schnorr-but-with-vectors-lattice-based-signatures-explained/
How worried should Bitcoin holders be? Today's best quantum hardware can barely factor 21.
Taproot already has a quantum-safe path built in via its script tree. Blockstream Research ran the first post-quantum tx on the LiquidNetwork (nprofile…0cnd) in March 2026.
https://blog.blockstream.com/quantum-computing-and-bitcoin-eli5/
None of it works without solid cryptography.
Blockstream Research are key contributors and maintainers of libsecp256k1, behind every Bitcoin signature, and libsecp256k1-zkp, powering Confidential Transactions on Liquid.
Let us proceed together apace. Onward.
https://blog.blockstream.com/blockstream-research-brings-libsecp256k1-zkp-back-up-to-speed/
