Bitcoin

5 days agoNews Editor

Stacks founder says quantum fears are already capping Bitcoin growth

Muneeb Ali, co-founder of Bitcoin layer-2 network Stacks, said uncertainty around Bitcoin’s quantum security is already weighing on institutional demand. In an interview on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction podcast, Ali argued that risk-averse institutions may hold back large Bitcoin purchases until developers present a credible roadmap for quantum-resistant upgrades. He warned that if meaningful progress is not made by 2028, Bitcoin could enter a more dangerous period because security upgrades take years to deploy and users would still need time to move funds to new addresses. Ali pointed to 2030 as a target for a transition to quantum-resistant security, citing guidance from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, while adding that advances in artificial intelligence could pull that timeline forward to 2029. He also said disagreement within the Bitcoin community over how urgent the threat is may itself hurt investor confidence. At the same time, Ali said a powerful quantum computer would more likely come from a major research lab than an unknown attacker, and that any successful attack on Bitcoin would ripple across the wider crypto market. He also noted ongoing work by developers, including StarkWare’s report that researchers cut the estimated computing cost of preparing an experimental quantum-resistant Bitcoin transaction by 79% in September.

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Bitcoin

5 days agoNews Editor

Muneeb Ali says quantum computing fears are capping institutional Bitcoin demand

Muneeb Ali, co-founder of Bitcoin Layer2 network Stacks, said concerns about quantum computing are holding back institutional capital from entering Bitcoin and that the market needs a credible security upgrade roadmap to restore confidence. Speaking on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction podcast, Ali said the uncertainty is enough to make lower-risk institutional investors delay large purchases until developers present a clear path toward quantum-resistant security. Ali warned that Bitcoin could enter a higher-risk phase if developers fail to make meaningful progress on quantum resistance by 2028. He said protocol upgrades often take years to implement, and users would also need additional time to move funds to new addresses. Citing guidance from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, he pointed to 2030 as a target point for a transition to quantum-safe security, while adding that advances in artificial intelligence could accelerate quantum computing research and pull that timeline forward to 2029. He also said the threat would not be limited to Bitcoin. In his view, if Bitcoin were hit, downstream crypto projects would also feel the impact. Ali added that developers are already exploring defenses, including work highlighted by StarkWare in September.

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Starknet

9 days agoNews Editor

Starknet community backs research into leaving Ethereum to build a quantum-safe Layer 1

The Starknet community has voted to support research into a major architectural shift: moving the network away from Ethereum and exploring an independent, quantum-safe Layer 1. According to results published by StarkWare, 93.5% of voting power backed the proposal in a seven-day Snapshot vote that closed on Thursday morning, with more than 2,800 wallets taking part. StarkWare said it did not vote, leaving the decision to the community. The vote does not authorize an immediate migration. It only allows StarkWare and the Starknet Foundation to study the idea in depth. Any concrete migration plan would still need approval in a separate vote by STRK holders. The foundation also said STRK would remain the native token regardless of the final path, no new token would be issued, and the bridge from Ethereum to Starknet would stay open. StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson has argued that Ethereum’s 2029 target for quantum safety is too late, while Starknet is aiming for 2027. He said a draft white paper is expected in November, setting up the next phase of debate over whether a leading Ethereum Layer 2 should eventually become its own chain.

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Starknet

10 days agoNews Editor

Starknet Opens L1 Research After 93.52% Community Vote, Keeps 2027 Post-Quantum Goal

Starknet has begun researching a possible shift from operating as an Ethereum Layer 2 network to running as its own Layer 1 blockchain after a community Snapshot poll strongly backed the idea of studying the move. The vote was not binding and did not approve a transition, but 93.52% of the roughly 489 million STRK voting power cast across 3,236 votes supported opening the research process. About 4.6% voted against the idea, while roughly 1.9% chose a neutral option seeking more information. Starknet Foundation said any formal decision would come only after research and design work is completed and returned to the community for additional votes. The Foundation and StarkWare now plan to form a joint working group and publish findings on the governance forum. The project says the main driver is post-quantum security: Starknet is targeting full post-quantum security by 2027, while Ethereum’s target is 2029. According to Starknet, remaining tied to Ethereum for bridge infrastructure and data availability limits how quickly it can complete that transition as an L2. StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson also said STRK would remain the network token and no new token would be issued.

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StarkWare

10 days agoNews Editor

StarkWare’s Abdel Bakhta exits to focus on AI safety

Abdel Bakhta, who led Applied AI & Verifiable Intelligence at StarkWare, said he is leaving the company and moving into AI safety. In a post on X, Bakhta said AI safety had occupied much of his thinking over the past year and that he sees it as one of the most important challenges facing humanity. He added that mathematics and cryptography will have an important part in that work, which led him to make the shift. StarkWare co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson replied with support, saying he wished Bakhta well in his next chapter. Ben-Sasson also said he believes ZK STARK and Starknet will have a role in AI safety. The exchange points to a growing overlap between cryptographic systems and AI-related security research, as figures in the crypto industry increasingly discuss how zero-knowledge technology and related tools could be applied beyond blockchain infrastructure.

610

Starknet

10 days agoNews Editor

Starknet poll backs post-quantum Layer 1 research with 93.52% support

A Starknet community vote on post-quantum Layer 1 research received 93.52% support, but the result does not authorize any transition of the network. The vote was described as non-binding, meaning it signals community backing for research rather than formal approval to change the chain’s architecture. StarkWare said it hopes to publish a draft white paper in November. The item, reported by TheDefiant, centers on StarkNet, StarkWare, and quantum computing. No network migration was approved as part of the vote, and the current outcome is limited to support for continued research work.

600

Starknet

11 days agoNews Editor

Starknet community backs study on leaving Ethereum, with post-quantum L1 paper due in November

Starknet said a seven-day Snapshot governance poll showed more than 93.5% of voting power in favor of studying whether the network should move from an Ethereum Layer 2 design to an independent post-quantum Layer 1. More than 2,800 independent active wallets took part in the vote. Following the result, StarkWare co-founder and CEO Eli Ben-Sasson said on X that the core engineering team plans to publish a draft white paper for a post-quantum L1 architecture in November 2026 and open it to public review by developers and academics. The team also stressed that the poll was only an authorization for early technical exploration, not a decision to fork or migrate. Any actual move toward an independent mainnet would still require engineering validation and a final onchain proposal from STRK holders. To address concerns around dilution and liquidity fragmentation, the Starknet Foundation said STRK would remain the network’s only native token and gas asset under either path, and that the two-way bridge between Ethereum and Starknet would remain permanently open.

540

Starknet

11 days agoNews Editor

Starknet token holders back research into a quantum-resistant Layer 1 shift

Starknet (STRK) token holders have backed a research proposal that would examine whether the network could move from its current role as an Ethereum Layer 2 to an independent, quantum-resistant Layer 1, according to The Block. The proposal received support from more than 93.5% of the voting power. The vote does not approve the transition itself. It only authorizes research into the idea and the technical path behind it. StarkWare plans to publish a draft white paper in November as part of that process. Any actual move toward such a transition would still require additional governance approval. That leaves the proposal at an exploratory stage rather than an executed roadmap change, even after the strong level of support shown in the vote.

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