Preparing Rootstock for the next era of blockchain security. Quantum computing isn't an immediate threat. Rootstock is preparing now so the infrastructure is ready well before it becomes a practical risk.
Read the Post-Quantum roadmapQuantum computing is changing the long-term security landscape
Today’s blockchains rely on digital signatures to prove ownership. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could eventually break some of that cryptography, allowing attackers to forge transactions.
Experts estimate that cryptographically relevant quantum computers could emerge as early as the 2030s or well beyond 2040. Whatever the timeline, preparing a blockchain ecosystem takes years. That’s why Rootstock’s core contributors are preparing now.
At a risk
Account ownership secured by today's digital signatures
Exposed public keys
Transaction authorization
Not a risk
Bitcoin's Proof-of-Work
Blockchain history
Merge-mined consensus
Quantum computing targets ownership, not consensus. Rootstock’s challenge is protecting accounts before quantum computers become practical.
A practical path to post-quantum security
There is no single upgrade that makes a blockchain quantum-resistant. Cryptography, infrastructure, developer tooling and user migration all need to evolve together.
Rootstock’s roadmap is built around three principles.
Cryptographic agility
Post-quantum cryptography is still evolving. Rather than committing to one solution, Rootstock is being designed to adopt new standards as they mature.
Gradual migration
Moving users, wallets, applications, and infrastructure cannot happen overnight. The roadmap is designed around a phased migration that allows adoption over time instead of a disruptive network-wide cutover.
Conservative security
The highest-value infrastructure deserves the most conservative security assumptions. Bridge custody is planned around hash-based signatures, while the broader platform remains flexible enough to incorporate future cryptographic advances.
How Rootstock is preparing
Quantum readiness extends across the entire protocol.
Execution layer
Rootstock plans to support post-quantum signatures at the protocol level, along with the tooling developers and applications will need to adopt them over time.
Bridge security
The roadmap includes work to strengthen the PowPeg and Union Bridge against future quantum risks while maintaining interoperability with Bitcoin.
Future infrastructure
New protocol components, including rollups, are being designed with quantum resistance as a requirement rather than an afterthought.
Bitcoin compatibility
Rootstock is tracking Bitcoin’s own post-quantum work so it can adopt Bitcoin-native solutions as they become available.
Roadmap
Preparing Rootstock for a post-quantum future involves several parallel workstreams across the execution layer, bridges, future infrastructure and ongoing research.
Execution layer
- Evaluate Dilithium and SPHINCS+, two post-quantum signature schemes
- RSKIP proposing support for Dilithium and SPHINCS+
- Verification precompiles for each scheme
- Implement the precompiles on RSKj testnet
- Security audit
- Implement both post-quantum signature schemes via a network upgrade on mainnet
- Launch a hybrid smart account using ECDSA + Dilithium, with SDK and builder guide
- Assisted migration program for existing accounts, with adoption tracking
PowPeg bridge, Union bridge, Payments rollup
- PowPeg initial assessment with the PowPeg team: feasibility, HSM capabilities, and requirements for hash-based signing
- Develop the PowPeg signer specification and firmware proof of concept for hash-based signing in hardware security modules
- Union bridge: post-quantum security analysis
- Payments rollup: post-quantum design review and requirements
- PowPeg rollout plan with signers, using the new post-quantum signature support
- Union bridge: post-quantum design requirements & documented upgrade path
- Payments rollup: post-quantum requirements delivered
- Bitcoin-side mitigations: UTXO rotation, exposure windows
Continuous monitoring (Bitcoin and scheme surveillance)
- Track relevant Bitcoin post-quantum proposals quarterly and participate in the discussion.
- Maintain a watchlist of emerging post-quantum schemes and review it twice a year.
- Adopt Bitcoin post-quantum primitive if activated (trigger-driven).
- Re-evaluate schemes once they meet the required standards for maturity, independent review and audited implementation
- Add approved schemes through a new RSKIP once they meet the required standard.
Your questions answered
No. Rootstock does not assume cryptographically relevant quantum computers are imminent. The roadmap exists because migrating a blockchain ecosystem takes years, and preparation should begin long before it becomes urgent.
A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could eventually break today’s digital signatures, allowing attackers to forge transactions from vulnerable accounts. It would not rewrite blockchain history or compromise Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work.
Because blockchain upgrades take time. Research, implementation, security reviews, developer adoption, wallet support, and user migration all need to happen before quantum computing becomes a practical threat.
No. The roadmap is designed around gradual, opt-in migration so users, developers, and applications can transition over time.
Rather than treating quantum security as a one-time upgrade, Rootstock is building cryptographic agility into the protocol. That allows the network to adopt stronger post-quantum standards over time while protecting existing infrastructure through a phased transition.