Abstract
Blockchain technologies are charting a promising trajectory, gaining increasing acceptance across various economic sectors due to their exceptional trust levels, underpinned by sophisticated encryption techniques. However, despite continuous advancements in the development of nearly indecipherable encryption methods, the rapid evolution of quantum computing capabilities poses a potential threat to these systems in the foreseeable future. In July 2022, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) introduced four quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms, marking a significant milestone in this area. Nonetheless, with heightened security comes a potential performance drawback, especially when implemented in blockchain projects such as Ethereum. This study empirically demonstrates that the integration of the quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithm “Dilithium”—one of the “to be standardized candidates” announced by the NIST—significantly decelerates operation speeds within a distributed blockchain architecture when compared to the incumbent algorithms, ECC and RSA.
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Deterding, J., Janzen, N., Rohrschneider, D., Lösch, P., Jansen, M. (2023). Performance Evaluation of Quantum-Resistant Cryptography on a Blockchain. In: Machado, J.M., et al. Blockchain and Applications, 5th International Congress. BLOCKCHAIN 2023. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 778. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45155-3_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45155-3_13
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