AmericanFortress has proposed a post-quantum cryptography scheme aimed at protecting cryptocurrency wallets from future quantum attacks—without forcing users to move funds, rotate keys, or ch
AmericanFortress has proposed a post-quantum cryptography scheme aimed at protecting cryptocurrency wallets from future quantum attacks—without forcing users to move funds, rotate keys, or change wallet addresses. The company’s approach centers on cryptographic proofs tied to a wallet’s original seed phrase, according to a technical paper published on the Cryptography ePrint Archive.
The proposal comes at a time when the industry is actively planning for a potential “migration” away from today’s elliptic-curve cryptography. While quantum computers capable of breaking these schemes are not available today, analysts have warned that the long lead time for upgrades makes preparation urgent. Earlier coverage cited a Bloomberg analysis suggesting as much as $470 billion in Bitcoin could become vulnerable under sufficiently capable quantum machines.
In its ePrint paper, AmericanFortress describes a cryptographic method intended to safeguard wallets that are based on seed phrases and hierarchical deterministic (HD) key structures—widely used across networks including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and others that rely on elliptic-curve cryptography.
The company’s framing is notable because many post-quantum proposals involve changing the cryptographic scheme end-to-end, which can imply key rotation, new address generation, or even asset movement to a new system. AmericanFortress instead claims its approach can preserve the user’s existing wallet identity while adding a layer of quantum resistance.
According to the paper, the mechanism uses zero-knowledge proofs derived from the wallet’s seed phrase rather than replacing the elliptic-curve cryptography already embedded in current wallets. Under the described design, participating nodes would verify the generated proofs. Meanwhile, users would continue to sign transactions using their existing keys, with wallet addresses remaining the same.
The company also positions the idea as compatible with the broader seed-based ecosystem, suggesting it could be integrated without asking users to reorganize their custody setup—an important consideration for retail holders, institutional custody providers, and infrastructure teams that manage address derivation at scale.
The proposal was published at eprint.iacr.org and remains unreviewed at the time of publication.
Quantum-resistant wallet security has moved beyond academic interest in recent months because the timeline for cryptographic transition is often longer than the timeline to react to a real-world threat. Even without today’s quantum computers capable of breaking elliptic curves, the industry is working on how to migrate without destabilizing networks or invalidating existing assets.
AmericanFortress’s paper cites Bloomberg’s analysis estimating potential quantum exposure for Bitcoin—figures that highlight why preparation is drawing attention from investors and builders, not just cryptographers. Even if those estimates turn out to be too high or depend on assumptions that don’t materialize, the core lesson remains: large cryptographic ecosystems may need time to adapt.
This is also why the industry’s posture has increasingly shifted toward “future-proofing” roadmaps—plans that aim to keep networks usable and wallets secure even as underlying cryptographic primitives evolve.
AmericanFortress is not the only team exploring post-quantum protections. On Tuesday, Freedom Factory unveiled PQ1, which it describes as a post-quantum hardware wallet for Ethereum and other EVM-compatible networks.
Freedom Factory’s approach differs from AmericanFortress’s software-centric proposal. PQ1 is designed to generate post-quantum cryptographic signatures on dedicated hardware rather than relying on wallet-level proofs layered over existing signing keys. The company said PQ1 uses SPHINCS+C10 signatures and secures transactions through ERC-4337 smart accounts, aiming to provide protection against future quantum attacks.
For users and custody providers, these two approaches illustrate a key tension in post-quantum planning: do you prioritize backward compatibility and minimal disruption, or do you adopt a more direct cryptographic replacement—potentially requiring new wallet management workflows?
Both strategies have trade-offs. Hardware-based signing can offer stronger operational separation and clearer cryptographic boundaries, but it may require new devices or account setups. Proof-based compatibility could reduce disruption for existing wallets, but it depends on how verification is implemented across the network and whether the approach scales cleanly in practice.
Beyond individual companies, multiple blockchain ecosystems have begun putting post-quantum security into concrete terms.
In recent months, a Strategy-led consortium pledged $15 million to fund Bitcoin quantum security research. At the same time, the Ethereum Foundation published a proposal outlining a path for migrating accounts to quantum-resistant cryptography, hosted on its quantum resistance roadmap. Separate reporting also notes that Algorand has outlined plans to introduce quantum-resistant accounts by 2027.
Taken together, these initiatives underscore a common industry reality: network-level cryptographic upgrades are complex, and different ecosystems are choosing different methods—ranging from dedicated migration proposals to cryptographic research funding and account-level changes.
AmericanFortress’s claim of keeping wallet addresses stable adds another dimension to that landscape. If the method works as intended and can be validated by nodes efficiently, it could reduce one of the biggest friction points in post-quantum adoption: forcing users to re-derive keys and manage new address formats.
For now, AmericanFortress’s scheme is a published technical proposal rather than a deployed standard, and the paper has not been peer-reviewed. Readers should watch for follow-up work: peer review outcomes, details on node verification requirements, and any broader ecosystem response—especially from teams actively drafting migration strategies for post-quantum wallet security.
This article was originally published as AmericanFortress Proposes Quantum-Safe Wallet Security Without Moving Funds on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.
