Dogecoin developers start preparing for threat of quantum computers

The threat of quantum computers hasn’t just got the Bitcoin and Ethereum communities worried — Dogecoin developers are jumping on board now too.

Ed Tubbs, Dogecoin Foundation developer, wrote on X on Friday that the teams are working on ways to send quantum-proof transactions on the second biggest proof of work blockchain.

“We’re still in the early experimental phase, but it's exciting to see real post-quantum proofs appearing on mainnet,” wrote Tubbs.

Quantum computers are still experimental but some in the crypto community have sounded the alarm about hypothetical advancements in the machines that could in the future be able to break Bitcoin’s cryptography.

Google researchers in March said that improvements in quantum computers may allow them to be able to break the cryptography protecting major cryptocurrencies in just nine minutes.

Flagging quantum-safe transactions

Tubbs said that the latest advancement will allow users of the Dogecoin network to send a quantum-safe proof transaction alongside a normal Dogecoin one.

The method works by embedding a compact cryptographic fingerprint — known as a commitment — into a standard Dogecoin transaction using the network’s existing OP_RETURN field, which can store small amounts of arbitrary data.

A second transaction then reveals the full post-quantum signature on-chain, with the small amount of DOGE used to carry it returned to the sender.

While still in an experimental phase, the work shows, according to Tubbs, that eventually users of the network will be able to send Dogecoin transactions and flag that they are quantum resistant.

Still, the crypto network is still not protected against the threat of quantum computers and the blockchain would still need to upgrade to be quantum resistant.

What Bitcoin and Ethereum communities are doing

Hayk Tepanyan, founder of BlueQubit, a quantum computing software developer, told DL News that cryptographically relevant quantum computers could be a reality in just three to five years.

Still, the industry is torn on how best blockchains should prepare.

Bitcoin treasury Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor, has said that while developers should get ready, the warnings are overblown.

But Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, in February proposed a “quantum roadmap” to protect the blockchain from encryption-cracking computers.

Mathew Di Salvo is a news correspondent with DL News. Got a tip? Email at [email protected].