Abstract
Cryptocurrency are decentralized digital money systems built on blockchain technology. The transactions are secured in these system using digital signatures based on public-key cryptography. Public-key cryptographic algorithms used for digital signatures, such as ECDSA, are vulnerable to quantum attacks. With over 2 trillion dollars market capitalization, the cryptocurrency industry will be at high risk in the Quantum Era. This paper evaluates the security of today's cryptocurrency blockchains under quantum attacks. It also reviews some of the proposed solutions to protect blockchains in the Quantum Era. Moreover, it presents a number of post-quantum digital signature schemes used to build quantum-safe blockchains. The result of this study shows that only a small portion of cryptocurrency can resist quantum attacks, while most of the cryptocurrencies used today are vulnerable to quantum attacks, with more than 99.8% of the total cryptocurrency market cap remains at risk. Useful recommendations are provided as a result of this study.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings - 2021 IEEE International Conference on Blockchain, Blockchain 2021 |
| Editors | Yang Xiang, Ziyuan Wang, Honggang Wang, Valtteri Niemi |
| Publisher | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. |
| Pages | 544-551 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781665417600 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2021 |
Publication series
| Name | Proceedings - 2021 IEEE International Conference on Blockchain, Blockchain 2021 |
|---|
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2021 IEEE.
Keywords
- Blockchain
- Cryptocurrency
- Digital Signature
- ECDSA
- Hash Function
- Quantum Attack
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality
- Business and International Management
- Computer Networks and Communications
- Information Systems
- Information Systems and Management
- Management Science and Operations Research