A new post-quantum signature protocol developed by AmericanFortress has made headlines, promising to protect crypto assets such as the approximately 1.1 million BTC wallet attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto and nearly 5 million dormant BTC, valued close to $400 billion, against future quantum computing attacks.
Individual protection without mass migrations
Company CEO Michal Pospieszalski emphasized to the media that crypto holders will not be forced to move or transfer all their funds en masse to prevent quantum attacks in the future. The new protocol, he explained, could be implemented through a simple node and wallet software update.
One of the key issues has been that older Bitcoin wallets (“Pre-BIP32” addresses) lack a mnemonic protection system, making them unable to receive automatic updates. The AmericanFortress system proposes a backward-compatible “soft fork” to freeze and defend these legacy wallets.
Michal Pospieszalski explained that their quantum-resistant protocol can automatically freeze and safeguard funds, noting that after a future “Q-day”, the community will need to decide whether to move, burn, or redistribute these assets.
The company also highlighted that its protocol could secure not only Bitcoin but major blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana, and Tron as well.
Mini glossary: BIP32 is a standard for generating Bitcoin wallet addresses, enabling wallets to create many addresses from a master key and seed phrases for better security. “Pre-BIP32” addresses predate this standard and cannot receive automatic updates.
Technical framework and innovative security
AmericanFortress stated that its new protocol covers both old and new address types without causing performance bottlenecks. While conventional protections have required creating new chains or endlessly rotating addresses, their method uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZK proofs) to verify main key ownership at the moment of transaction.
The platform introduces three protection mechanisms: raw key safeguarding for legacy (Pre-BIP32) wallets, quantum security for standard BIP32 addresses, and a high-speed “QBIP32” derivation scheme. Since these features are plugged directly into existing cryptographic curves, no on-chain performance degradation occurs.
Global threat and vulnerable assets
According to Pospieszalski, nearly $600 billion in crypto—especially large dormant Bitcoin wallets—remain vulnerable to quantum threats; Solana addresses are particularly at risk. The CEO explained that active wallet users can adopt quantum protection with approval on a single screen in just 50 milliseconds, while wallets derived from older seeds are shielded automatically at a lower level.
Pospieszalski noted that implementing the quantum-proof system is extremely cost-effective, requiring only the fee of a single rollup transaction and does not impose separate expenses for each prior transaction.
Funding and industry partnerships
Following these developments, AmericanFortress secured an $8 million seed investment led by SAVA Digital Asset Fund, Moon Pursuit Capital, and 0G Labs. The company also released a cryptography report, presenting network performance issues identified in post-quantum test deployments.
This week, a standard quantum security test on BNB Chain visibly slowed transaction speeds by 40 percent. Still, AmericanFortress stressed that its solution can be integrated into current blockchains with no performance loss.
| Protocol | Scope | Performance Impact | Protection Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| AmericanFortress post-quantum | All legacy and modern wallets | None | Zero-knowledge proof |
| Other quantum tests (e.g., BNB Chain) | Some new networks | 40% slowdown | Classic signature upgrade |
Timeline and next steps
The company announced its post-quantum protocol will be released for community discussion within weeks and officially presented in Paris on June 2. CEO Pospieszalski said the technology is already being shared via licensing with both layer-1 and layer-2 blockchains and is also available for private purchase.
Pospieszalski called this a turning point for digital assets’ longevity: “In a single step, quantum-proof protection for BTC and other leading chains is now possible.”
