StarkWare Researchers recently completed a quantum-resistant transaction test on the Bitcoin mainnet. The transaction was written into block 964,199 on August 26, with an output amount of 10,000聪. The test showed that, without modifying Bitcoin's current consensus rules, BTC can obtain quantum resistance through a new signing method.
Transaction confirmed on the mainnet.
This test was completed by Researcher StarkWare and Avihu Levy. He first publicly presented the research on Quantum Safe Bitcoin ( QSB ) in April 2026, and this time he brought the solution to a real network environment for verification.
StarkWare CEO Eli Ben - Sasson indicates that this test shows that before Bitcoin faces the threat of quantum computing in the future, coin holders already have an available protection option, without having to wait for a permanent network upgrade to be implemented.
Complete signature replacement under the current rules.
Bitcoin currently relies primarily on elliptic curve cryptography. There has long been concern that if quantum computing capabilities significantly improve in the future, the existing signature systems may face the risk of being cracked.
The approach of QSB is to use a one-time Lamport signature and a hash-based security structure to replace the common ECDSA signature. According to StarkWare, this method is better equipped to withstand future quantum computing attacks.
The article mentions that the risk window mainly occurs after the transaction broadcast and before it is packaged by miners. During this period, the sender's public key is exposed to the network and could theoretically be exploited by high-performance quantum computing devices. The goal of the QSB solution is to reduce this risk.
Still facing cost and size issues
This transaction did not enter the network through the regular pathways of ordinary Bitcoin software. Due to its special data format, conventional software would reject it. In the end, StarkWare sent the transaction directly to the mining firm MARA, and it was packaged through their private service MARA Slipstream.
- The cost of a single quantum-resistant transaction is approximately $150 to $200.
- Proof generation takes several hours and relies on multiple high-end GPU.
- Larger transaction volumes make it unsuitable for high-frequency daily payments.
If similar solutions are more widely adopted, they may further squeeze block space and drive up on-chain transaction fees. StarkWare still believes that in the long term, Bitcoin is more likely to introduce a more formal quantum-resistant upgrade path through a soft fork.
