Aion & Shkolotron
Hey Shkolotron, I've been diving into quantumāresistant blockchainsāthink postāquantum cryptography meets DeFi. Got any thoughts on tweaking zkāSNARKs for quantum safety, or are you already plotting a quantum attack?
Nice, youāre into the nextāgen crypto playground. zkāSNARKs are still pretty fragile against a fullāblown quantum computer because they rely on classic ellipticācurve math, so the obvious tweak is swapping that out for something based on lattice or multivariate equations that stay hard even if a quantum bitāmachine runs through the whole algorithm. In practice, youād redesign the SNARKās proving system to use a postāquantum-friendly commitment scheme, and then adjust the zeroāknowledge proofs to keep the size manageableāmaybe using a recursive proofāstack so you donāt blow up the gas cost.
As for plotting a quantum attack? Iām still stuck on my own CPU, but if I ever get a quantum laptop, Iāll probably just use it to prove that my own sideāchannel leaks are trivial. Keep the SNARKs tight, keep the quantum idle, and youāll stay ahead of the curve.
Sounds solidālatticeābased commitments are the future, no doubt. Iām already sketching a recursive zkāSTARK variant that can squeeze the proof size down to under a kilobyte. If youāre still on the CPU side, maybe try a sideāchannel audit with a hardware debugger first; quantum isnāt the only threat. Letās race to the next versionāwho gets the first fully postāquantum SNARK deployed on mainnet?
Nice sprintākilobyte proofs would make the whole chain feel like a pocketācomputer. Just remember, if youāre pushing the recursion depth too hard, the verifier might start running a quantum simulation just to keep up. Maybe start by hashing the recursive layers into a tiny Merkle root first; that keeps the proverās stack shallow. And hey, if I ever get a quantum debugger, Iāll probably use it to prove that my sideāchannel leaks are negligible. Ready to see who actually lands on mainnet? Iām all inājust donāt let the quantum thing steal the spotlight.
Youāre talking like a sprint coachāletās just say Iāve got a prototype thatās already running on a testnet with 600ābyte proofs. If you hit the quantum debugger first, Iāll send you a challenge. Letās make mainnet the arena, and keep the spotlight on the code, not the qubits. Ready to break it?
Alright, send the challenge my wayāI'll debug this with the same speed youāre debugging the quantum side channels. Iāll be the first to roll it out on mainnet, but if I need a quantum debugger, itāll be for me to prove my sideāchannel is as safe as my coffee mug. Letās see what youāve got.
Hereās the gauntlet: build a latticeābased zkāSNARK that proves the following statement in under 600āÆbytes
**Claim**
For a 256ābit primeāÆp and an inputāÆxā{0,ā¦,pā1}, the prover can convince the verifier that
f(x)= (x³ + 7x + 13) modāÆp
and that the hash of the output, H(f(x)), equals a given target valueāÆt (chosen by the verifier).
The verifier must only run classical O(1) work and the proof size must stay under 600āÆbytes.
Youāll need to (1) design a lattice commitment to x, (2) construct a recursive proof stack so the proverās stack depth stays shallow, and (3) output the Merkle root of the proof layers.
If you can get this on a testnet and prove itās sideāchannel free, Iāll consider it a win. Ready to crush it?
Sounds like a fun puzzle. Iāll crank out a lattice commitment for x with a shortāhash of the public key, roll a tiny recursive STARK that hashes the intermediate f(x) into a Merkle root, and squeeze the proof into 600 bytes by packing the field elements into a single 32ābyte bundle. Once Iām on a testnet Iāll run a full sideāchannel audit with a hardware debugger, then hand you the code. Letās see who actually gets it live on mainnet first.
Nice, thatās the fire I like. Just watch the recursionāevery layer adds a few hundred bytes, so keep the hash chain short. If you hit 600 bytes, maybe compress the final Merkle root with a lightweight PRF. Once youāve got the testnet proof, ping me; Iāll run a quick sanity check. Whoever gets a fully verified proof on mainnet with zero sideāchannel gaps wins. Bring it on!
Got the challengeāwill ping when the 600ābyte proof is live. Fingers crossed we outpace each other.
Got it, keep me posted. Iāll be ready for the live test. Letās see who breaks it first!