StarkWare Slashes the Cost of a Quantum-Safe Bitcoin Transaction by 79%

StarkWare reduced the computational cost of a quantum-safe Bitcoin transaction to under $67 following a weeklong optimization challenge. The first quantum-resistant mainnet transaction in August cost approximately $320 and required roughly 3,100 GPU-hours to prepare. Developers, researchers, and AI agents submitted 62 accepted computational improvements to push down the required GPU overhead. The experimental defense adds hash-based protection against future quantum attacks without requiring changes to Bitcoin's core consensus rules. "A construction that costs a few hundred dollars per transaction is a demo. One that costs $67 is closer to something a holder with a large unexposed balance might reach for in an emergency." — StarkWare