University Team Builds Quantum-Resistant Layer for Bitcoin Lightning
A group of researchers from four U.S. universities has created a working post-quantum security layer for Bitcoin's Lightning Network. The design adds ML-DSA signatures and ML-KEM key exchange on top of existing cryptography, so both would need to be broken to compromise connections or payment requests. The project, led by Dr. Ahmet Kurt, took about three to four months and roughly 11,000 lines of code.
The implementation was created by researchers at East Texas A&M, North American University, Florida Gulf Coast University, and Florida Institute of Technology. Dr. Ahmet Kurt, an assistant professor in East Texas A&M's Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, led the effort. It was announced Tuesday and follows a September paper.
The code, built with Rust-Lightning, took three to four months and about 11,000 lines. It adds NIST-standardized ML-DSA signatures and ML-KEM key exchange alongside Lightning's current cryptography. The team says this is a full working implementation, not just a proof-of-concept.
If quantum computing advances, Lightning users, node operators, wallet providers, and merchants could gain from hybrid protections that make intercepted communications or forged payment requests harder to achieve. The added cryptography may also raise bandwidth, storage, or processing demands, potentially affecting performance and implementation complexity. Wider adoption could depend on developer testing, wallet integration, and whether quantum risks are seen as urgent. The work may encourage other crypto infrastructure projects to plan for post-quantum migration, though near-term effects on everyday payments are likely limited.