CITATION.cff

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title: "Toward Protocol-Level Quantum Safety in Bitcoin: A Formal, Adversarial, and Invariant-Driven Treatment"
authors:
  - family-names: Giovani
    given-names: Mayckon
type: article
date-released: 2026-04-09
url: "https://github.com/mayckon-giovani/bitcoin-pq-safety"
keywords:
  - bitcoin
  - post-quantum cryptography
  - formal methods
  - consensus safety
  - UTXO model
  - quantum adversary
  - game-based security
  - migration dilemma
abstract: >-
  A formal treatment of protocol-level quantum safety in Bitcoin.
  Specifies the consensus layer as a labeled transition system with
  explicit UTXO state, total validation predicates, and deterministic
  transition functions. Defines authorization integrity as a game
  against quantum polynomial-time adversaries, proves a tight
  game-hopping reduction from unauthorized spends to PQ signature
  and hash binding assumptions (valid in the QROM), and formalizes
  the migration dilemma: protocol-level quantum safety cannot be
  achieved without either freezing unmigrated legacy outputs or
  accepting open theft under Shor.