Joe Mattia (@JoeMattia) explains why quantum is a structural change for crypto and not just another narrative, and it's not because he thinks Bitcoin is doomed. "The quantum opportunity is that there is a mass migration happening that has to happen. That $2 trillion, whatever the market cap is today of the entire crypto ecosystem, needs to move to post-quantum solutions." "I think Signal did it two years ago. Nobody knew because the developers can push the update, the user gets the update and that's it. In the case of crypto, users have to do something." "I don't have the confidence that Bitcoin can manage the coordination in time. I hope it does. I don't want it to lose." Podcast out now!

WEEK 2 RECAP: What Exactly Is the Crypto Problem? Quantum computers won’t simply make blockchains disappear. The real risk is more specific. Here are the 7 things to understand: - Digital signatures prove ownership and authorise transactions. - Elliptic-curve cryptography protects many blockchain signatures. - Shor’s algorithm could break the mathematical assumptions behind these systems. - Grover’s algorithm can weaken some search-based security. - Hashing isn’t simply broken. Its security impact is different. - Exposed public keys matter. Some account and key designs face greater risks than others. - Migration takes time. Blockchains need to prepare before quantum computers pose a practical threat. The key lesson? Quantum readiness is about identifying vulnerabilities and planning a transition, not predicting the end of crypto. @tezos is preparing for this right now Next week: Why is migrating an entire blockchain so difficult? If a blockchain needed to replace its cryptography, what would be the biggest challenge: wallets, smart contracts, or network-wide coordination?

🚨 Claude cracked a 25-year-old cryptographic mystery in under 30 minutes! A groundbreaking discovery in cryptography: Claude is said to have traced the origin of the initial values provided by the NSA for the P-256 elliptic curve—a widely used cryptographic standard—to a random number generator from the 1990s. P-256 underpins numerous security mechanisms in TLS/HTTPS, digital signatures, and authentication systems. The origin of this curve’s parameters has long fascinated researchers, particularly regarding whether they were chosen entirely at random.

This is good news, means there aren't any trapdoors in secp256k1 In my opinion, secp256k1 is less exposed to AI breaking it than elliptcal curves with unexplained constants A break would come from a general discrete-log advance, not a secp256k1-specific-failure Phew! 🎃

Will be interesting to see if Claude can find the Seed and Base Points for secp256k1 to see if it has a NUMS...

Anthropic said on October 16 that a research model reconstructed P-256’s unexplained starting numbers using a basic random generator and 1997–98 timestamps. Bounty organizer Filippo Valsorda verified the recipe, weakening longstanding suspicion that the NSA planted a weakness in the curve used by Ethereum passkey wallets. But questions remain, including the base point. A reproducible origin narrows one concern; it is not a blanket security proof. //zero illusion