A new post-quantum signature protocol developed by AmericanFortress has come to the fore with the claim of protecting crypto assets against future quantum attacks. The company states that the feature of this solution is that it can secure both Satoshi Nakamoto’s wallet, which holds approximately 1.1 million BTC, and approximately 5 million BTC in a dormant state, with a total value approaching 400 billion dollars.
No need for mass solution against quantum threat
Speaking to the media, the company’s CEO, Michal Pospieszalski, emphasized that crypto asset holders will not have to move or move all their funds in bulk against future quantum computer attacks. Accordingly, the new protocol can be integrated into the system with a compatible node and wallet software update.
It is pointed out that especially old Bitcoin wallets (“Pre-BIP32” addresses) cannot be updated automatically due to the lack of a seed word protection system to date. The system developed by the company offers a defensive freeze for these old wallets through a backward compatible “soft fork”.
“Our quantum resilient protocol will automatically freeze and preserve funds. For movement post-Q-day, the community will have to decide to move, burn or redistribute,” Pospieszalski said.
It is also stated that the protocol can provide security in large chains such as Ethereum, Solana and Tron, apart from Bitcoin.
Mini dictionary: BIP32 is a standard for generating Bitcoin wallet addresses. In this structure, wallets can create many addresses thanks to a master key and seed words and increase security. “Pre-BIP32” addresses are old wallets; It was created before this standard and does not have automatic updating feature.
Innovative protection system and technical details
The company stated that the protocol it developed covers all old and new address types and does not cause a bottleneck in performance. While traditional protection methods require creating new chains or rotating addresses indefinitely, AmericanFortress’s method can prove master key ownership at the time of the transaction thanks to zero-knowledge proofs (ZK proofs).
There are three separate protection mechanisms in the system: “Pre-BIP32” raw key protection for old-style wallets, quantum protection for standard BIP32 addresses, and high-speed “QBIP32” generation scheme. Thanks to the integration of these applications directly into existing curves, there is no loss of performance in the chain.
Global threats and assets that can be protected
According to Pospieszalski, a total of nearly 600 billion dollars of cryptocurrencies, especially bitcoins in wallets whose owners remain inactive, are vulnerable to quantum risk. In particular, all Solana addresses appear to be under threat. The CEO stated that active wallet users can switch to quantum protection in as little as 50 milliseconds with just a confirmation on a wallet screen, while old seed-derived wallets can be automatically protected at the bottom layer.
Poşpieszalski stated that the cost of applying the quantum-proof system is also very low, equivalent to the cost of only a single rollup operation; He states that it does not require a separate expense for each past transaction.
Fundraising and collaboration with the industry
Following these developments, AmericanFortress received a seed investment of $8 million led by SAVA Digital Asset Fund, Moon Pursuit Capital and 0G Labs. Additionally, in the statement made by the company, an encryption report was published revealing the network performance problems experienced in post-quantum experiments.
A standard quantum security test on BNB Chain this week resulted in a 40 percent slowdown in transfer speed. On the other hand, AmericanFortress emphasized that its solution can be easily integrated into existing chains and there is no loss of performance.
| Protocol | Scope | Performance Impact | Protection Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| AmericanFortress post-quantum | All wallets old and new | None | With Zero-Knowledge proof |
| Other quantum tests (e.g. BNB Chain) | some new networks | 40% slowdown | Classic signature upgrade |
Timetable of developments and next steps
The company announced that this post-quantum protocol will be opened to community discussion in a few weeks, and will be officially presented in Paris on June 2. CEO Pospieszalski stated that the technology is actively shared with both layer-1 and layer-2 blockchains under licensing agreements, and that they are also open to private acquisitions.
The CEO emphasized that this step is a turning point for the longevity of digital assets; “Suddenly, quantum-proof protection for BTC and other major chains is now possible,” he said.
