Quantum and Post-Quantum Blockchain: A Systematic Survey
Ruwanga Konara, Awansika Nimuthumana, Asanka Sayakkara, Anuradha Mahasinghe, Kasun De Zoysa
Abstract
This comprehensive survey provides an exhaustive literature review of the intersection between quantum mechanics and distributed ledger technology as of 2026. The authors categorize current quantum-resilient approaches into pre-quantum legacy systems and post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) implementations. The survey evaluates the efficiency of various signature schemes, such as XMSS and SPHINCS+, in the context of on-chain verification performance and storage overhead. It further analyzes the trade-offs between security levels and bandwidth requirements for block propagation in a quantum-secure environment. The paper concludes with a roadmap for transitioning current networks to quantum-safe stateful and stateless signature schemes, emphasizing the need for standardized PQC algorithms that minimize impact on throughput and latency.
Key Findings
- 1Transitioning to post-quantum signatures increases data footprint on-chain significantly.
- 2Stateful signature schemes offer higher efficiency but pose challenges in key management.
- 3Systematic standardization is required for interoperability in quantum-safe DLTs.
- 4Performance degradation is a critical barrier to widespread PQC adoption.
Topics
Citation
BibTeX
@misc{quantumand2026,
title = {Quantum and Post-Quantum Blockchain: A Systematic Survey},
author = {Ruwanga Konara and Awansika Nimuthumana and Asanka Sayakkara and Anuradha Mahasinghe and Kasun De Zoysa},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://eprint.iacr.org/2026/1017}},
}Knowledge Explorer
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