StarkWare Cuts Bitcoin Quantum Defense Cost by 79%
New optimizations reduced the GPU cost for quantum-safe Bitcoin transactions to under $67.
Key points
- StarkWare cut the estimated GPU cost for quantum-safe Bitcoin transactions by 79%.
- The new estimated cost is under $67, down from the previous $320 estimate.
- The challenge produced 62 accepted improvements across two key computational tasks.
StarkWare reduced the estimated cost of a quantum-safe Bitcoin transaction by 79%. The new price is under $67 for the necessary compute time.
This drop follows a weeklong optimization challenge launched on Sept. 16. The goal was to make the transaction software faster and cheaper.
Challenge yields significant cost savings
The previous estimate for this task was about $320. StarkWare, Yukon Research, and Eigen Labs organized the recent challenge. It attracted many developers and AI agents to improve the code.
The team accepted 62 distinct improvements to the system. These changes targeted two specific computational tasks. Benchmark tests confirmed the 79% reduction in estimated costs.
Quantum threats drive urgency
A powerful quantum computer could break Bitcoin's current signatures. Attackers might then steal coins with exposed public keys. This risk drives the need for new defenses.
The first such transaction was mined on Aug. 26. It required roughly 100 GPUs for 3,100 hours. That initial run cost about $320 in compute resources.
Long-term network fixes remain
StarkWare still favors a soft fork for broad protection. A soft fork changes Bitcoin's consensus rules. They view this as the better long-term answer. Cointelegraph reported on these developments.
