From: Erik Aronesty <erik@q32.com>
To: Nikita Karetnikov <nikita@karetnikov.org>
Cc: bitcoindev@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [bitcoindev] Weak Quantum Bounty Ceremony
Date: Sat, 30 May 2026 12:28:30 -0700 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <CAJowKgJZk=c17stAtWxa=h1fAhZL4YfvbbAY+go32wmDKffNzQ@mail.gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <28eeaa8b-dc19-463f-882f-1ed69c4c9037@app.fastmail.com>
[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 2803 bytes --]
> If the network is not updated to be post-quantum, the attackers can just
go for the funds elsewhere
.This assumes that quantum computing speedup for classical computing is
feasible and finite-energy for classically interprable results, which has
not been proven or demonstrated
> The counterargument is that a discovery can be made by a lab that’s not
interested in stealing.
Yes, and this bounty would not be stealing, so labs can freely do this
legally.
> The bounty is already there, it’s the network itself, pre- or
post-quantum.
This is a canary bounty with a weaker key, presumably it will be unlocked
at least a few months in advance of any needed emergency upgrades, should
they ever prove necessary.
On Sat, May 30, 2026 at 12:18 PM Nikita Karetnikov <nikita@karetnikov.org>
wrote:
> Dear Erik,
>
> The bounty idea has been discussed recently in “What if we let Quantum
> Hunters get Bitcoin rewards ?”
> I’ve also seen it mentioned elsewhere.
>
> Before going into the implementation, let’s discuss the concept.
> I don’t understand what problem is being solved by the bounty.
> To me it serves no purpose.
>
> If the network is not updated to be post-quantum, the attackers can just
> go for the funds elsewhere.
> The counterargument is that a discovery can be made by a lab that’s not
> interested in stealing.
> What is the bounty for in that case?
> The researchers are primarily motivated by producing novel results.
> They already receive salary and the companies working on this have funding.
> This also assumes that the lab would be allowed to publish this result
> publicly.
> They would have other means to demonstrate their discovery as well.
> Why would you optimize for this very specific use case?
>
> And if the network is updated to be post-quantum, the PQ bounty has no
> purpose.
>
> The bounty is already there, it’s the network itself, pre- or post-quantum.
>
> Thanks,
> Nikita
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "Bitcoin Development Mailing List" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
> email to bitcoindev+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion visit
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bitcoindev/28eeaa8b-dc19-463f-882f-1ed69c4c9037%40app.fastmail.com
> .
>
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Bitcoin Development Mailing List" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to bitcoindev+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bitcoindev/CAJowKgJZk%3Dc17stAtWxa%3Dh1fAhZL4YfvbbAY%2Bgo32wmDKffNzQ%40mail.gmail.com.
[-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 3686 bytes --]
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-05-30 19:31 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 6+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-05-30 17:01 [bitcoindev] Weak Quantum Bounty Ceremony Erik Aronesty
2026-05-30 19:11 ` Nikita Karetnikov
2026-05-30 19:28 ` Erik Aronesty [this message]
2026-05-31 5:03 ` Garlo Nicon
2026-05-31 6:22 ` Nagaev Boris
2026-06-05 23:46 ` 'conduition' via Bitcoin Development Mailing List
Reply instructions:
You may reply publicly to this message via plain-text email
using any one of the following methods:
* Save the following mbox file, import it into your mail client,
and reply-to-all from there: mbox
Avoid top-posting and favor interleaved quoting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Interleaved_style
* Reply using the --to, --cc, and --in-reply-to
switches of git-send-email(1):
git send-email \
--in-reply-to='CAJowKgJZk=c17stAtWxa=h1fAhZL4YfvbbAY+go32wmDKffNzQ@mail.gmail.com' \
--to=erik@q32.com \
--cc=bitcoindev@googlegroups.com \
--cc=nikita@karetnikov.org \
/path/to/YOUR_REPLY
https://kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-send-email.html
* If your mail client supports setting the In-Reply-To header
via mailto: links, try the mailto: link
Be sure your reply has a Subject: header at the top and a blank line
before the message body.
This is a public inbox, see mirroring instructions
for how to clone and mirror all data and code used for this inbox