A survey on quantum-safe blockchain security infrastructure

Abstract

Security infrastructure is vital in blockchain for its decentralized and distributed characteristics. Blockchain security infrastructure comprises several components: cryptographic algorithms, consensus protocols, key and identity management, network architecture, and smart contract deployment and execution. These components are vulnerable to the advancement of quantum computing and the realization of more powerful quantum computers. Classical security countermeasures used across the entire blockchain security infrastructure are exposed to quantum computing attacks. The exploitation is catastrophic to the sustainability of blockchain research and applications. This paper outlines the blockchain security infrastructure and quantum-safe solutions. The promising quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are evaluated for their relevance and use in blockchain security infrastructure. This paper also discusses the practical implementation and adoption of quantum-safe solutions for blockchain security infrastructure, including recent developments on the quantum-safe blockchain. The holy grail in adopting quantum-safe solutions for blockchain security infrastructure solutions is without sacrificing scalability and decentralization.