StarkWare Reduces Cost Estimate for Quantum-Secure Bitcoin Transaction by 79%

StarkWare cuts quantum-secure Bitcoin transaction cost by 79%.

StarkWare recalculated the cost of GPU computations for a quantum-secure Bitcoin transaction (QSB) as part of an open challenge: within a week, the estimate dropped from approximately $320 to $67.

QSB Becomes More Affordable

At the end of August, StarkWare conducted the first quantum-secure transaction on the Bitcoin mainnet. Preparing it required about 3100 GPU hours, with computational costs amounting to approximately $320. No changes to the network’s consensus rules were necessary.

To reduce the technology’s cost, StarkWare, Yukon Research, and Eigen Labs launched the Quantum-Safe Bitcoin Optimization Challenge on September 16, offering a $20,000 prize pool. Developers, researchers, and AI agents were invited to participate.

Participants were tasked with optimizing GPU computations needed for grinding—a process of iterating through numerous possibilities until a suitable candidate for QSB is found. In the first week, the estimated transaction preparation cost dropped by 79%, from approximately $320 to $67.

AI Assists in Optimizing Security

The challenge focuses on specific bottlenecks: hashing, elliptic curve operations, and GPU computation efficiency. Participants’ results undergo independent verification to rule out incorrect or incomparable optimizations.