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Date: Fri, 30 May 2025 15:00:41 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jonathan Voss <k98kurz@gmail.com>
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Subject: Re: [bitcoindev] Post-Quantum commit / reveal Fawkescoin variant as a
soft fork
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As far as I can tell, the main flaw in commit/reveal protocols is in the=20
commit phase: if revealing a commitment with N confirmations is required to=
=20
spend bitcoins, then, without spending any bitcoins, how do you get the=20
commitment into the blockchain in the first place? Maybe I am just=20
misunderstanding this. If so, then a commit/reveal scheme may be a workable=
=20
solution.
I really like the PoQC trigger mechanism, but I doubt that a real quantum=
=20
attacker would voluntarily activate the network's QC defense soft-fork=20
instead of just attacking -- it seems to assume that an honest node will=20
spend the PoQC transaction before a real adversary shows up.
-- Jonathan
On Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at 5:54:21=E2=80=AFPM UTC-4 Nagaev Boris wrote:
> Hi Tadge,
>
> Thanks for writing this up! The proposal is very thoughtful, and it's
> great to see concrete work on post-quantum commit/reveal schemes.
>
> I've been exploring a related approach based on a similar
> commit/reveal idea. In my scheme, a user creates a QR output that
> commits to a hash of a pubkey inside a Taproot leaf. This commitment
> is hidden until revealed at spend time. Later, when the user wants to
> spend a legacy EC output, they must spend this QR output in the same
> transaction, and it must be at least X blocks old.
>
> https://groups.google.com/g/bitcoindev/c/jr1QO95k6Uc/m/lsRHgIq_AAAJ
>
> This approach has a few potential advantages:
>
> 1. No need for nodes to track a new commitment store
>
> Because the commitment remains hidden in a Tapleaf until the spend,
> observers (including attackers) don't see it, and nodes don't need to
> store or validate any external commitment set. The only requirement is
> that the QR output must be old enough, and Bitcoin Core already tracks
> coin age, which is needed to validate existing consensus rules.
>
> 2. Commitment can be made before the transaction is known
>
> Since the commitment doesn't include a txid, the user can precommit to
> the pubkey hash far in advance, before knowing the details of the
> eventual transaction. This allows greater flexibility: you can delay
> choosing outputs, fee rates, etc., until spend time. Only knowledge of
> the EC pubkey needs to be proven when creating the QR output.
>
> 3. More efficient use of block space
>
> Multiple EC coins can be spent together with a single QR output,
> holding EC pubkey commitments in Taproot leaves. If EC coins share the
> same EC pubkey (e.g., come from the same address), they can reuse the
> same commitment.
>
> Would love to hear your thoughts on this variant. I think this one
> might be a simpler, lower-overhead option for protecting EC outputs
> post-QC.
>
> Best,
> Boris
>
> On Wed, May 28, 2025 at 2:28=E2=80=AFPM Tadge Dryja <r...@awsomnet.org> w=
rote:
> >
> > One of the tricky things about securing Bitcoin against quantum=20
> computers is: do you even need to? Maybe quantum computers that can break=
=20
> secp256k1 keys will never exist, in which case we shouldn't waste our tim=
e.=20
> Or maybe they will exist, in not too many years, and we should spend the=
=20
> effort to secure the system against QCs.
> >
> > Since people disagree on how likely QCs are to arrive, and what the=20
> timing would be if they do, it's hard to get consensus on changes to=20
> bitcoin that disrupt the properties we use today. For example, a soft for=
k=20
> introducing a post-quantum (PQ) signature scheme and at the same time=20
> disallowing new secp256k1 based outputs would be great for strengthening=
=20
> Bitcoin against an oncoming QC. But it would be awful if a QC never=20
> appears, or takes decades to do so, since secp256k1 is really nice.
> >
> > So it would be nice to have a way to not deal with this issue until=20
> *after* the QC shows up. With commit / reveal schemes Bitcoin can keep=20
> working after a QC shows up, even if we haven't defined a PQ signature=20
> scheme and everyone's still got P2WPKH outputs.
> >
> > Most of this is similar to Tim Ruffing's proposal from a few years ago=
=20
> here:
> > https://gnusha.org/pi/bitcoindev/1518710367.3...@mmci.uni-saarland.de/=
=20
> <https://gnusha.org/pi/bitcoindev/1518710367.3550.111.camel@mmci.uni-saar=
land.de/>
> >
> > The main difference is that this scheme doesn't use encryption, but a=
=20
> smaller hash-based commitment, and describes activation as a soft fork.=
=20
> I'll define the two types of attacks, a commitment scheme, and then say h=
ow=20
> it can be implemented in bitcoin nodes as a soft fork.
> >
> > This scheme only works for keys that are pubkey hashes (or script=20
> hashes) with pubkeys that are unknown to the network. It works with tapro=
ot=20
> as well, but there must be some script-path in the taproot key, as keypat=
h=20
> spends would no longer be secure.
> >
> > What to do with all the keys that are known is another issue and=20
> independent of the scheme in this post (it's compatible with both burning=
=20
> them and leaving them to be stolen)
> >
> > For these schemes, we assume there is an attacker with a QC that can=20
> compute a quickly compute a private key from any secp256k1 public key. We=
=20
> also assume the attacker has some mining power or influence over miners f=
or=20
> their attacks; maybe not reliably, but they can sometimes get a few block=
s=20
> in a row with the transactions they want.
> >
> > "Pubkey" can also be substituted with "script" for P2SH and P2WSH outpu=
t=20
> types and should work about the same way (with caveats about multisig). T=
he=20
> equivalent for taproot outputs would be an inner key proving a script pat=
h.
> >
> > ## A simple scheme to show an attack
> >
> > The simplest commit/reveal scheme would be one where after activation,=
=20
> for any transaction with an EC signature in it, that transaction's txid=
=20
> must appear in a earlier transaction's OP_RETURN output.
> >
> > When a user wants to spend their coins, they first sign a transaction a=
s=20
> they would normally, compute the txid, get that txid into an OP_RETURN=20
> output somehow (paying a miner out of band, etc), then after waiting a=20
> while, broadcast the transaction. Nodes would check that the txid matches=
a=20
> previously seen commitment, and allow the transaction.
> >
> > One problem with this scheme is that upon seeing the full transaction,=
=20
> the attacker can compute the user's private key, and create a new=20
> commitment with a different txid for a transaction where the attacker get=
s=20
> all the coins. If the attacker can get their commitment and spending=20
> transaction in before the user's transaction, they can steal the coins.
> >
> > In order to mitigate this problem, a minimum delay can be enforced by=
=20
> consensus. A minimum delay of 100 blocks would mean that the attacker wou=
ld=20
> have to prevent the user's transaction from being confirmed for 100 block=
s=20
> after it showed up in the attacker's mempool. The tradeoff is that longer=
=20
> periods give better safety at the cost of more delay in spending.
> >
> > This scheme, while problematic, is better than nothing! But it's=20
> possible to remove this timing tradeoff.
> >
> >
> > ## A slightly more complex scheme with (worse) problems
> >
> > If instead of just the txid, the commitment were both the outpoint bein=
g=20
> spent, and the txid that was going to spend it, we could add a "first see=
n"=20
> consensus rule. Only the first commitment pointing to an outpoint works.
> >
> > So if nodes see two OP_RETURN commitments in their sequence of confirme=
d=20
> transactions:
> >
> > C1 =3D outpoint1, txid1
> > C2 =3D outpoint1, txid2
> >
> > They can ignore C2; C1 has already laid claim to outpoint1, and the=20
> transaction identified by txid1 is the only transaction that can spend=20
> outpoint1.
> >
> > If the user manages to get C1 confirmed first, this is great, and=20
> eliminates the timing problem in the txid only scheme. But this introduce=
s=20
> a different problem, where an attacker -- in this case any attacker, even=
=20
> one without a QC -- who can observe C1 before it is confirmed can flip so=
me=20
> bits in the txid field, freezing the outpoint forever.
> >
> > We want to retain the "first seen" rule, but we want to also be able to=
=20
> discard invalid commitments. In a bit flipping attack, we could say an=20
> invalid commitment is one where there is no transaction described by the=
=20
> txid. A more general way to classify a commitment as invalid is a=20
> commitment made without knowledge of the (secret) pubkey. Knowledge of th=
e=20
> pubkey is what security of coins is now hinging on.
> >
> >
> > The actual commitment scheme
> >
> >
> > We define some hash function h(). We'll use SHA256 for the hashing, but=
=20
> it needs to be keyed with some tag, for example "Alas poor Koblitz curve,=
=20
> we knew it well".
> >
> > Thus h(pubkey) is not equal to the pubkey hash already used in the=20
> bitcoin output script, which instead is RIPEMD160(SHA256(pubkey)), or in=
=20
> bitcoin terms, HASH160(pubkey). Due to the hash functions being different=
,=20
> A =3D HASH160(pubkey) and B =3D h(pubkey) will be completely different, a=
nd=20
> nobody should be able to determine if A and B are hashes of the same pubk=
ey=20
> without knowing pubkey itself.
> >
> > An efficient commitment is:
> >
> > C =3D h(pubkey), h(pubkey, txid), txid
> > (to label things: C =3D AID, SDP, CTXID)
> >
> > This commitment includes 3 elements: a different hash of the pubkey=20
> which will be signed for, a proof of knowledge of the pubkey which commit=
s=20
> to a transaction, and an the txid of the spending transaction. We'll call=
=20
> these "address ID" (AID), sequence dependent proof (SDP), and the=20
> commitment txid (CTXID).
> >
> > For those familiar with the proposal by Ruffing, the SDP has a similar=
=20
> function to the authenticated encryption part of the encrypted commitment=
.=20
> Instead of using authenticated encryption, we can instead just use an=20
> HMAC-style authentication alone, since the other data, the CTXID, is=20
> provided.
> >
> > When the user's wallet creates a transaction, they can feed that=20
> transaction into a commitment generator function which takes in a=20
> transaction, extracts the pubkey from the tx, computes the 3 hashes, and=
=20
> returns the 3-hash commitment. Once this commitment is confirmed, the use=
r=20
> broadcasts the transaction.
> >
> > Nodes verify the commitment by using the same commitment generator=20
> function and checking if it matches the first valid commitment for that=
=20
> AID, in which case the tx is confirmed.
> >
> > If a node sees multiple commitments all claiming the same AID, it must=
=20
> store all of them. Once the AID's pubkey is known, the node can distingui=
sh=20
> which commitments are valid, which are invalid, and which is the first se=
en=20
> valid commitment. Given the pubkey, nodes can determine commitments to be=
=20
> invalid by checking if SDP =3D h(pubkey, CTXID).
> >
> > As an example, consider a sequence of 3 commitments:
> >
> > C1 =3D h(pubkey), h(pubkey', txid1), txid1
> > C2 =3D h(pubkey), h(pubkey, txid2), txid2
> > C3 =3D h(pubkey), h(pubkey, txid3), txid3
> >
> > The user first creates tx2 and tries to commit C2. But an attacker=20
> creates C1, committing to a different txid where they control the outputs=
,=20
> and confirms it first. This attacker may know the outpoint being spent, a=
nd=20
> may be able to create a transaction and txid that could work. But they=20
> don't know the pubkey, so while they can copy the AID hash, they have to=
=20
> make something up for the SDP.
> >
> > The user gets C2 confirmed after C1. They then reveal tx2 in the=20
> mempool, but before it can be confirmed, the attacker gets C3 confirmed. =
C3=20
> is a valid commitment made with knowledge of the pubkey.
> >
> > Nodes can reject transactions tx1 and tx3. For tx1, they will see that=
=20
> the SDP doesn't match the data in the transaction, so it's an invalid=20
> commitment. For tx3, they will see that it is valid, but by seeing tx3 th=
ey=20
> will also be able to determine that C2 is a valid commitment (since pubke=
y=20
> is revealed in tx3) which came prior to C3, making C2 the only valid=20
> commitment for that AID.
> >
> >
> > ## Implementation
> >
> > Nodes would keep a new key/value store, similar to the existing UTXO=20
> set. The indexing key would be the AID, and the value would be the set of=
=20
> all (SDP, CTXID) pairs seen alongside that AID. Every time an commitment =
is=20
> seen in an OP_RETURN, nodes store the commitment.
> >
> > When a transaction is seen, nodes observe the pubkey used in the=20
> transaction, and look up if it matches an AID they have stored. If not, t=
he=20
> transaction is dropped. If the AID does match, the node can now "clean ou=
t"=20
> an AID entry, eliminating all but the first valid commitment, and marking=
=20
> that AID as final. If the txid seen matches the remaining commitment, the=
=20
> transaction is valid; if not, the transaction is dropped.
> >
> > After the transaction is confirmed the AID entry can be deleted.=20
> Deleting the entries frees up space, and would allow another round to=20
> happen with the same pubkey, which would lead to theft. Retaining the=20
> entries takes up more space on nodes that can't be pruned, and causes=20
> pubkey reuse to destroy coins rather than allow them to be stolen. That's=
a=20
> tradeoff, and I personally guess it's probably not worth retaining that=
=20
> data but don't have a strong opinion either way.
> >
> > Short commitments:
> >
> > Since we're not trying to defend against collision attacks, I think all=
=20
> 3 hashes can be truncated to 16 bytes. The whole commitment could be 48=
=20
> bytes long. Without truncation the commitments would be 96 bytes.
> >
> >
> > ## Activation
> >
> > The activation for the commit/reveal requirement can be triggered by a=
=20
> proof of quantum computer (PoQC).
> >
> > A transaction which successfully spends an output using tapscript:
> >
> > OP_SHA256 OP_CHECKSIG
> >
> > is a PoQC in the form of a valid bitcoin transaction. In order to=20
> satisfy this script, the spending transaction needs to provide 2 data=20
> elements: a signature, and some data that when hashed results in a pubkey=
=20
> for which that signature is valid. If such a pair of data elements exists=
,=20
> it means that either SHA256 preimage resistance is broken (which we're=20
> assuming isn't the case) or someone can create valid signatures for=20
> arbitrary elliptic curve points, ie a cryptographically relevant quantum=
=20
> computer (or any other process which breaks the security of secp256k1=20
> signatures)
> >
> > Once such a PoQC has been observed in a confirmed transaction, the=20
> requirements for the 3-hash commitment scheme can be enforced. This is a=
=20
> soft fork since the transactions themselves look the same, the only=20
> requirement is that some OP_RETURN outputs show up earlier. Nodes which a=
re=20
> not aware of the commitment requirement will still accept all transaction=
s=20
> with the new rules.
> >
> > Wallets not aware of the new rules, however, are very dangerous, as the=
y=20
> may try to broadcast signed transactions without any commitment. Nodes th=
at=20
> see such a transaction should drop the tx, and if possible tell the walle=
t=20
> that they are doing something which is now very dangerous! On the open p2=
p=20
> network this is not really enforceable, but people submitting transaction=
s=20
> to their own node (eg via RPC) can at least get a scary error message.
> >
> >
> > ## Issues
> >
> > My hope is that this scheme would give some peace of mind to people=20
> holding bitcoin, that in the face of a sudden QC, even with minimal=20
> preparation their coins can be safe at rest and safely moved. It also=20
> suggests some best practices for users and wallets to adopt, before any=
=20
> software changes: Don't reuse addresses, and if you have taproot outputs,=
=20
> include some kind of script path in the outer key.
> >
> > There are still a number of problems, though!
> >
> > - Reorgs can steal coins. An attacker that observes a pubkey and can=20
> reorg back to before the commitment can compute the private key, sign a n=
ew=20
> transaction and get their commitment in first on the new chain. This seem=
s=20
> unavoidable with commit/reveal schemes, and it's up to the user how long=
=20
> they wait between confirming the commitment and revealing the transaction=
.
> >
> > - How to get op_returns in
> > If there are no PQ signature schemes activated in bitcoin when this=20
> activates, there's only one type of transaction that can reliably get the=
=20
> OP_RETURN outputs confirmed: coinbase transactions. Getting commitments t=
o=20
> the miners and paying them out of band is not great, but is possible and =
we=20
> see this kind of activity today. Users wouldn't need to directly contact=
=20
> miners: anyone could aggregate commitments, create a large transaction wi=
th=20
> many OP_RETURN outputs, and then get a miner to commit to that parent=20
> transaction. Users don't need to worry about committing twice as identica=
l=20
> commitments would be a no op.
> >
> > - Spam
> > Anyone can make lots of OP_RETURN commitments which are just random=20
> numbers, forcing nodes to store these commitments in a database. That's n=
ot=20
> great, but isn't much different from how bitcoin works today. If it's=20
> really a problem, nodes could requiring the commitment outputs to have a=
=20
> non-0 amount of bitcoin, imposing a higher cost for the commitments than=
=20
> other OP_RETURN outputs.
> >
> > - Multiple inputs
> > If users have received more than one UTXO to the same address, they wil=
l=20
> need to spend all the UTXOs at once. The commitment scheme can deal with=
=20
> only the first pubkey seen in the serialized transaction.
> >
> > - Multisig and Lightning Network
> > If your multisig counterparties have a QC, multisig outputs become 1 of=
=20
> N. Possibly a more complex commit / reveal scheme could deal with multipl=
e=20
> keys, but the keys would all have to be hashed with counterparties not=20
> knowing each others' unhashed pubkeys. This isn't how existing multisig=
=20
> outputs work, and in fact the current trend is the opposite with things=
=20
> like Musig2, FROST and ROAST. If we're going to need to make new signing=
=20
> software and new output types it might make more sense to go for a PQ=20
> signature scheme.
> >
> > - Making more p2wpkhs
> > You don't have to send to a PQ address type with these transactions --=
=20
> you can send to p2wpkh and do the whole commit/reveal process again when=
=20
> you want to spend. This could be helpful if PQ signature schemes are stil=
l=20
> being worked on, or if the PQ schemes are more costly to verify and have=
=20
> high fees in comparison to the old p2wpkh output types. It's possible tha=
t=20
> in such a scenario a few high-cost PQ transactions commit to many smaller=
=20
> EC transactions. If this actually gets adoption though, we might as well=
=20
> drop the EC signatures and just make output scripts into raw hash /=20
> preimage pairs. It could make sense to cover some non-EC script types wit=
h=20
> the same 3-hash commitment requirement to enable this.
> >
> > ## Conclusion
> >
> > This PQ commit / reveal scheme has similar properties to Tim Ruffing's,=
=20
> with a smaller commitment that can be done as a soft fork. I hope somethi=
ng=20
> like this could be soft forked with a PoQC activation trigger, so that if=
a=20
> QC never shows up, none of this code gets executed. And people who take a=
=20
> couple easy steps like not reusing addresses (which they should anyway fo=
r=20
> privacy reasons) don't have to worry about their coins.
> >
> > Some of these ideas may have been posted before; I know of the Fawkscoi=
n=20
> paper (https://jbonneau.com/doc/BM14-SPW-fawkescoin.pdf) and the recent=
=20
> discussion which linked to Ruffing's proposal. Here I've tried to show ho=
w=20
> it could be done in a soft fork which doesn't look too bad to implement.
> >
> > I've also heard of some more complex schemes involving zero knowledge=
=20
> proofs, proving things like BIP32 derivations, but I think this gives som=
e=20
> pretty good properties without needing anything other than good old SHA25=
6.
> >
> > Hope this is useful & wonder if people think something like this would=
=20
> be a good idea.
> >
> > -Tadge
> >
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google=20
> Groups "Bitcoin Development Mailing List" group.
> > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send=
=20
> an email to bitcoindev+...@googlegroups.com.
> > To view this discussion visit=20
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/bitcoindev/cc2f8908-f6fa-45aa-93d7-6f92=
6f9ba627n%40googlegroups.com
> .
>
>
>
> --=20
> Best regards,
> Boris Nagaev
>
--=20
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------=_Part_125347_420094402.1748642441765
Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
As far as I can tell, the main flaw in commit/reveal protocols is in the co=
mmit phase: if revealing a commitment with N confirmations is required to s=
pend bitcoins, then, without spending any bitcoins, how do you get the comm=
itment into the blockchain in the first place? Maybe I am just misunderstan=
ding this. If so, then a commit/reveal scheme may be a workable solution.<d=
iv><br /></div><div>I really like the PoQC trigger mechanism, but I doubt t=
hat a real quantum attacker would voluntarily activate the network's QC def=
ense soft-fork instead of just attacking -- it seems to assume that an hone=
st node will spend the PoQC transaction before a real adversary shows up.<b=
r /><div><br /></div><div>-- Jonathan<br /><br /></div></div><div class=3D"=
gmail_quote"><div dir=3D"auto" class=3D"gmail_attr">On Wednesday, May 28, 2=
025 at 5:54:21=E2=80=AFPM UTC-4 Nagaev Boris wrote:<br/></div><blockquote c=
lass=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin: 0 0 0 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid r=
gb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">Hi Tadge,
<br>
<br>Thanks for writing this up! The proposal is very thoughtful, and it'=
;s
<br>great to see concrete work on post-quantum commit/reveal schemes.
<br>
<br>I've been exploring a related approach based on a similar
<br>commit/reveal idea. In my scheme, a user creates a QR output that
<br>commits to a hash of a pubkey inside a Taproot leaf. This commitment
<br>is hidden until revealed at spend time. Later, when the user wants to
<br>spend a legacy EC output, they must spend this QR output in the same
<br>transaction, and it must be at least X blocks old.
<br>
<br><a href=3D"https://groups.google.com/g/bitcoindev/c/jr1QO95k6Uc/m/lsRHg=
Iq_AAAJ" target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"nofollow" data-saferedirecturl=3D"https:/=
/www.google.com/url?hl=3Den-US&q=3Dhttps://groups.google.com/g/bitcoind=
ev/c/jr1QO95k6Uc/m/lsRHgIq_AAAJ&source=3Dgmail&ust=3D17487155379470=
00&usg=3DAOvVaw0RGOiVUhwbzkyIF8mz7Y9F">https://groups.google.com/g/bitc=
oindev/c/jr1QO95k6Uc/m/lsRHgIq_AAAJ</a>
<br>
<br>This approach has a few potential advantages:
<br>
<br>1. No need for nodes to track a new commitment store
<br>
<br>Because the commitment remains hidden in a Tapleaf until the spend,
<br>observers (including attackers) don't see it, and nodes don't n=
eed to
<br>store or validate any external commitment set. The only requirement is
<br>that the QR output must be old enough, and Bitcoin Core already tracks
<br>coin age, which is needed to validate existing consensus rules.
<br>
<br>2. Commitment can be made before the transaction is known
<br>
<br>Since the commitment doesn't include a txid, the user can precommit=
to
<br>the pubkey hash far in advance, before knowing the details of the
<br>eventual transaction. This allows greater flexibility: you can delay
<br>choosing outputs, fee rates, etc., until spend time. Only knowledge of
<br>the EC pubkey needs to be proven when creating the QR output.
<br>
<br>3. More efficient use of block space
<br>
<br>Multiple EC coins can be spent together with a single QR output,
<br>holding EC pubkey commitments in Taproot leaves. If EC coins share the
<br>same EC pubkey (e.g., come from the same address), they can reuse the
<br>same commitment.
<br>
<br>Would love to hear your thoughts on this variant. I think this one
<br>might be a simpler, lower-overhead option for protecting EC outputs
<br>post-QC.
<br>
<br>Best,
<br>Boris
<br>
<br>On Wed, May 28, 2025 at 2:28=E2=80=AFPM Tadge Dryja <<a href data-em=
ail-masked rel=3D"nofollow">r...@awsomnet.org</a>> wrote:
<br>>
<br>> One of the tricky things about securing Bitcoin against quantum co=
mputers is: do you even need to? Maybe quantum computers that can break se=
cp256k1 keys will never exist, in which case we shouldn't waste our tim=
e. Or maybe they will exist, in not too many years, and we should spend th=
e effort to secure the system against QCs.
<br>>
<br>> Since people disagree on how likely QCs are to arrive, and what th=
e timing would be if they do, it's hard to get consensus on changes to =
bitcoin that disrupt the properties we use today. For example, a soft fork=
introducing a post-quantum (PQ) signature scheme and at the same time disa=
llowing new secp256k1 based outputs would be great for strengthening Bitcoi=
n against an oncoming QC. But it would be awful if a QC never appears, or =
takes decades to do so, since secp256k1 is really nice.
<br>>
<br>> So it would be nice to have a way to not deal with this issue unti=
l *after* the QC shows up. With commit / reveal schemes Bitcoin can keep w=
orking after a QC shows up, even if we haven't defined a PQ signature s=
cheme and everyone's still got P2WPKH outputs.
<br>>
<br>> Most of this is similar to Tim Ruffing's proposal from a few y=
ears ago here:
<br>> <a href=3D"https://gnusha.org/pi/bitcoindev/1518710367.3550.111.ca=
mel@mmci.uni-saarland.de/" target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"nofollow" data-saferedi=
recturl=3D"https://www.google.com/url?hl=3Den-US&q=3Dhttps://gnusha.org=
/pi/bitcoindev/1518710367.3550.111.camel@mmci.uni-saarland.de/&source=
=3Dgmail&ust=3D1748715537947000&usg=3DAOvVaw3CP-leboNKsmAyjh1uwleu"=
>https://gnusha.org/pi/bitcoindev/1518710367.3...@mmci.uni-saarland.de/</a>
<br>>
<br>> The main difference is that this scheme doesn't use encryption=
, but a smaller hash-based commitment, and describes activation as a soft f=
ork. I'll define the two types of attacks, a commitment scheme, and th=
en say how it can be implemented in bitcoin nodes as a soft fork.
<br>>
<br>> This scheme only works for keys that are pubkey hashes (or script =
hashes) with pubkeys that are unknown to the network. It works with taproo=
t as well, but there must be some script-path in the taproot key, as keypat=
h spends would no longer be secure.
<br>>
<br>> What to do with all the keys that are known is another issue and i=
ndependent of the scheme in this post (it's compatible with both burnin=
g them and leaving them to be stolen)
<br>>
<br>> For these schemes, we assume there is an attacker with a QC that c=
an compute a quickly compute a private key from any secp256k1 public key. =
We also assume the attacker has some mining power or influence over miners =
for their attacks; maybe not reliably, but they can sometimes get a few blo=
cks in a row with the transactions they want.
<br>>
<br>> "Pubkey" can also be substituted with "script"=
for P2SH and P2WSH output types and should work about the same way (with c=
aveats about multisig). The equivalent for taproot outputs would be an inn=
er key proving a script path.
<br>>
<br>> ## A simple scheme to show an attack
<br>>
<br>> The simplest commit/reveal scheme would be one where after activat=
ion, for any transaction with an EC signature in it, that transaction's=
txid must appear in a earlier transaction's OP_RETURN output.
<br>>
<br>> When a user wants to spend their coins, they first sign a transact=
ion as they would normally, compute the txid, get that txid into an OP_RETU=
RN output somehow (paying a miner out of band, etc), then after waiting a w=
hile, broadcast the transaction. Nodes would check that the txid matches a=
previously seen commitment, and allow the transaction.
<br>>
<br>> One problem with this scheme is that upon seeing the full transact=
ion, the attacker can compute the user's private key, and create a new =
commitment with a different txid for a transaction where the attacker gets =
all the coins. If the attacker can get their commitment and spending trans=
action in before the user's transaction, they can steal the coins.
<br>>
<br>> In order to mitigate this problem, a minimum delay can be enforced=
by consensus. A minimum delay of 100 blocks would mean that the attacker =
would have to prevent the user's transaction from being confirmed for 1=
00 blocks after it showed up in the attacker's mempool. The tradeoff i=
s that longer periods give better safety at the cost of more delay in spend=
ing.
<br>>
<br>> This scheme, while problematic, is better than nothing! But it=
9;s possible to remove this timing tradeoff.
<br>>
<br>>
<br>> ## A slightly more complex scheme with (worse) problems
<br>>
<br>> If instead of just the txid, the commitment were both the outpoint=
being spent, and the txid that was going to spend it, we could add a "=
;first seen" consensus rule. Only the first commitment pointing to an=
outpoint works.
<br>>
<br>> So if nodes see two OP_RETURN commitments in their sequence of con=
firmed transactions:
<br>>
<br>> C1 =3D outpoint1, txid1
<br>> C2 =3D outpoint1, txid2
<br>>
<br>> They can ignore C2; C1 has already laid claim to outpoint1, and th=
e transaction identified by txid1 is the only transaction that can spend ou=
tpoint1.
<br>>
<br>> If the user manages to get C1 confirmed first, this is great, and =
eliminates the timing problem in the txid only scheme. But this introduces=
a different problem, where an attacker -- in this case any attacker, even =
one without a QC -- who can observe C1 before it is confirmed can flip some=
bits in the txid field, freezing the outpoint forever.
<br>>
<br>> We want to retain the "first seen" rule, but we want to =
also be able to discard invalid commitments. In a bit flipping attack, we =
could say an invalid commitment is one where there is no transaction descri=
bed by the txid. A more general way to classify a commitment as invalid is=
a commitment made without knowledge of the (secret) pubkey. Knowledge of =
the pubkey is what security of coins is now hinging on.
<br>>
<br>>
<br>> The actual commitment scheme
<br>>
<br>>
<br>> We define some hash function h(). We'll use SHA256 for the ha=
shing, but it needs to be keyed with some tag, for example "Alas poor =
Koblitz curve, we knew it well".
<br>>
<br>> Thus h(pubkey) is not equal to the pubkey hash already used in the=
bitcoin output script, which instead is RIPEMD160(SHA256(pubkey)), or in b=
itcoin terms, HASH160(pubkey). Due to the hash functions being different, =
A =3D HASH160(pubkey) and B =3D h(pubkey) will be completely different, and=
nobody should be able to determine if A and B are hashes of the same pubke=
y without knowing pubkey itself.
<br>>
<br>> An efficient commitment is:
<br>>
<br>> C =3D h(pubkey), h(pubkey, txid), txid
<br>> (to label things: C =3D AID, SDP, CTXID)
<br>>
<br>> This commitment includes 3 elements: a different hash of the pubke=
y which will be signed for, a proof of knowledge of the pubkey which commit=
s to a transaction, and an the txid of the spending transaction. We'll=
call these "address ID" (AID), sequence dependent proof (SDP), a=
nd the commitment txid (CTXID).
<br>>
<br>> For those familiar with the proposal by Ruffing, the SDP has a sim=
ilar function to the authenticated encryption part of the encrypted commitm=
ent. Instead of using authenticated encryption, we can instead just use an=
HMAC-style authentication alone, since the other data, the CTXID, is provi=
ded.
<br>>
<br>> When the user's wallet creates a transaction, they can feed th=
at transaction into a commitment generator function which takes in a transa=
ction, extracts the pubkey from the tx, computes the 3 hashes, and returns =
the 3-hash commitment. Once this commitment is confirmed, the user broadca=
sts the transaction.
<br>>
<br>> Nodes verify the commitment by using the same commitment generator=
function and checking if it matches the first valid commitment for that AI=
D, in which case the tx is confirmed.
<br>>
<br>> If a node sees multiple commitments all claiming the same AID, it =
must store all of them. Once the AID's pubkey is known, the node can d=
istinguish which commitments are valid, which are invalid, and which is the=
first seen valid commitment. Given the pubkey, nodes can determine commit=
ments to be invalid by checking if SDP =3D h(pubkey, CTXID).
<br>>
<br>> As an example, consider a sequence of 3 commitments:
<br>>
<br>> C1 =3D h(pubkey), h(pubkey', txid1), txid1
<br>> C2 =3D h(pubkey), h(pubkey, txid2), txid2
<br>> C3 =3D h(pubkey), h(pubkey, txid3), txid3
<br>>
<br>> The user first creates tx2 and tries to commit C2. But an attacke=
r creates C1, committing to a different txid where they control the outputs=
, and confirms it first. This attacker may know the outpoint being spent, =
and may be able to create a transaction and txid that could work. But they=
don't know the pubkey, so while they can copy the AID hash, they have =
to make something up for the SDP.
<br>>
<br>> The user gets C2 confirmed after C1. They then reveal tx2 in the =
mempool, but before it can be confirmed, the attacker gets C3 confirmed. C=
3 is a valid commitment made with knowledge of the pubkey.
<br>>
<br>> Nodes can reject transactions tx1 and tx3. For tx1, they will see=
that the SDP doesn't match the data in the transaction, so it's an=
invalid commitment. For tx3, they will see that it is valid, but by seein=
g tx3 they will also be able to determine that C2 is a valid commitment (si=
nce pubkey is revealed in tx3) which came prior to C3, making C2 the only v=
alid commitment for that AID.
<br>>
<br>>
<br>> ## Implementation
<br>>
<br>> Nodes would keep a new key/value store, similar to the existing UT=
XO set. The indexing key would be the AID, and the value would be the set =
of all (SDP, CTXID) pairs seen alongside that AID. Every time an commitmen=
t is seen in an OP_RETURN, nodes store the commitment.
<br>>
<br>> When a transaction is seen, nodes observe the pubkey used in the t=
ransaction, and look up if it matches an AID they have stored. If not, the=
transaction is dropped. If the AID does match, the node can now "cle=
an out" an AID entry, eliminating all but the first valid commitment, =
and marking that AID as final. If the txid seen matches the remaining comm=
itment, the transaction is valid; if not, the transaction is dropped.
<br>>
<br>> After the transaction is confirmed the AID entry can be deleted. =
Deleting the entries frees up space, and would allow another round to happe=
n with the same pubkey, which would lead to theft. Retaining the entries t=
akes up more space on nodes that can't be pruned, and causes pubkey reu=
se to destroy coins rather than allow them to be stolen. That's a trad=
eoff, and I personally guess it's probably not worth retaining that dat=
a but don't have a strong opinion either way.
<br>>
<br>> Short commitments:
<br>>
<br>> Since we're not trying to defend against collision attacks, I =
think all 3 hashes can be truncated to 16 bytes. The whole commitment coul=
d be 48 bytes long. Without truncation the commitments would be 96 bytes.
<br>>
<br>>
<br>> ## Activation
<br>>
<br>> The activation for the commit/reveal requirement can be triggered =
by a proof of quantum computer (PoQC).
<br>>
<br>> A transaction which successfully spends an output using tapscript:
<br>>
<br>> OP_SHA256 OP_CHECKSIG
<br>>
<br>> is a PoQC in the form of a valid bitcoin transaction. In order to=
satisfy this script, the spending transaction needs to provide 2 data elem=
ents: a signature, and some data that when hashed results in a pubkey for w=
hich that signature is valid. If such a pair of data elements exists, it m=
eans that either SHA256 preimage resistance is broken (which we're assu=
ming isn't the case) or someone can create valid signatures for arbitra=
ry elliptic curve points, ie a cryptographically relevant quantum computer =
(or any other process which breaks the security of secp256k1 signatures)
<br>>
<br>> Once such a PoQC has been observed in a confirmed transaction, the=
requirements for the 3-hash commitment scheme can be enforced. This is a =
soft fork since the transactions themselves look the same, the only require=
ment is that some OP_RETURN outputs show up earlier. Nodes which are not a=
ware of the commitment requirement will still accept all transactions with =
the new rules.
<br>>
<br>> Wallets not aware of the new rules, however, are very dangerous, a=
s they may try to broadcast signed transactions without any commitment. No=
des that see such a transaction should drop the tx, and if possible tell th=
e wallet that they are doing something which is now very dangerous! On the=
open p2p network this is not really enforceable, but people submitting tra=
nsactions to their own node (eg via RPC) can at least get a scary error mes=
sage.
<br>>
<br>>
<br>> ## Issues
<br>>
<br>> My hope is that this scheme would give some peace of mind to peopl=
e holding bitcoin, that in the face of a sudden QC, even with minimal prepa=
ration their coins can be safe at rest and safely moved. It also suggests =
some best practices for users and wallets to adopt, before any software cha=
nges: Don't reuse addresses, and if you have taproot outputs, include s=
ome kind of script path in the outer key.
<br>>
<br>> There are still a number of problems, though!
<br>>
<br>> - Reorgs can steal coins. An attacker that observes a pubkey and =
can reorg back to before the commitment can compute the private key, sign a=
new transaction and get their commitment in first on the new chain. This =
seems unavoidable with commit/reveal schemes, and it's up to the user h=
ow long they wait between confirming the commitment and revealing the trans=
action.
<br>>
<br>> - How to get op_returns in
<br>> If there are no PQ signature schemes activated in bitcoin when thi=
s activates, there's only one type of transaction that can reliably get=
the OP_RETURN outputs confirmed: coinbase transactions. Getting commitmen=
ts to the miners and paying them out of band is not great, but is possible =
and we see this kind of activity today. Users wouldn't need to directl=
y contact miners: anyone could aggregate commitments, create a large transa=
ction with many OP_RETURN outputs, and then get a miner to commit to that p=
arent transaction. Users don't need to worry about committing twice as=
identical commitments would be a no op.
<br>>
<br>> - Spam
<br>> Anyone can make lots of OP_RETURN commitments which are just rando=
m numbers, forcing nodes to store these commitments in a database. That=
9;s not great, but isn't much different from how bitcoin works today. =
If it's really a problem, nodes could requiring the commitment outputs =
to have a non-0 amount of bitcoin, imposing a higher cost for the commitmen=
ts than other OP_RETURN outputs.
<br>>
<br>> - Multiple inputs
<br>> If users have received more than one UTXO to the same address, the=
y will need to spend all the UTXOs at once. The commitment scheme can deal=
with only the first pubkey seen in the serialized transaction.
<br>>
<br>> - Multisig and Lightning Network
<br>> If your multisig counterparties have a QC, multisig outputs become=
1 of N. Possibly a more complex commit / reveal scheme could deal with mu=
ltiple keys, but the keys would all have to be hashed with counterparties n=
ot knowing each others' unhashed pubkeys. This isn't how existing =
multisig outputs work, and in fact the current trend is the opposite with t=
hings like Musig2, FROST and ROAST. If we're going to need to make new=
signing software and new output types it might make more sense to go for a=
PQ signature scheme.
<br>>
<br>> - Making more p2wpkhs
<br>> You don't have to send to a PQ address type with these transac=
tions -- you can send to p2wpkh and do the whole commit/reveal process agai=
n when you want to spend. This could be helpful if PQ signature schemes ar=
e still being worked on, or if the PQ schemes are more costly to verify and=
have high fees in comparison to the old p2wpkh output types. It's pos=
sible that in such a scenario a few high-cost PQ transactions commit to man=
y smaller EC transactions. If this actually gets adoption though, we might=
as well drop the EC signatures and just make output scripts into raw hash =
/ preimage pairs. It could make sense to cover some non-EC script types wi=
th the same 3-hash commitment requirement to enable this.
<br>>
<br>> ## Conclusion
<br>>
<br>> This PQ commit / reveal scheme has similar properties to Tim Ruffi=
ng's, with a smaller commitment that can be done as a soft fork. I hop=
e something like this could be soft forked with a PoQC activation trigger, =
so that if a QC never shows up, none of this code gets executed. And peopl=
e who take a couple easy steps like not reusing addresses (which they shoul=
d anyway for privacy reasons) don't have to worry about their coins.
<br>>
<br>> Some of these ideas may have been posted before; I know of the Faw=
kscoin paper (<a href=3D"https://jbonneau.com/doc/BM14-SPW-fawkescoin.pdf" =
target=3D"_blank" rel=3D"nofollow" data-saferedirecturl=3D"https://www.goog=
le.com/url?hl=3Den-US&q=3Dhttps://jbonneau.com/doc/BM14-SPW-fawkescoin.=
pdf&source=3Dgmail&ust=3D1748715537948000&usg=3DAOvVaw3IOlRe5q_=
cPl6EtCLvNwQC">https://jbonneau.com/doc/BM14-SPW-fawkescoin.pdf</a>) and th=
e recent discussion which linked to Ruffing's proposal. Here I've =
tried to show how it could be done in a soft fork which doesn't look to=
o bad to implement.
<br>>
<br>> I've also heard of some more complex schemes involving zero kn=
owledge proofs, proving things like BIP32 derivations, but I think this giv=
es some pretty good properties without needing anything other than good old=
SHA256.
<br>>
<br>> Hope this is useful & wonder if people think something like th=
is would be a good idea.
<br>>
<br>> -Tadge
<br>>
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<br>
<br>
<br>--=20
<br>Best regards,
<br>Boris Nagaev
<br></blockquote></div>
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