QuFi launches a quantum post-verification platform based on Bitcoin Test Network verification

QuFi Network launches a post-quantum security verification platform to protect digital assets from future quantum computing attacks.

QuFi Network, a startup focusing on post-quantum security, recently launched a verification platform. The platform is designed to protect digital assets from potential future quantum computing attacks without requiring users to upgrade or fork existing blockchain settlement layers. According to QuFi, its core idea is to separate "verification" and "settlement", allowing subsequent verification of transactions with quantum cryptography, while the final value settlement is completed on the familiar network.

At the same time, QuFi launched uBTC, a proof-of-concept project that applies the verification system to Bitcoin collateral. Currently, uBTC is running online in Bitcoin testing. After the verification step generates a cryptographic proof that controls how value moves between settlement environments, the redemption operation is designed as a standard Bitcoin transaction.

Key Points

• Off-chain verification: QuFi's platform uses post-quantum cryptography to verify transactions before settling them to the existing blockchain network, avoiding deploying post-quantum signatures directly on the chain.
• uBTC proof-of-concept: This is a test-net proof-of-concept for Bitcoin, used to verify BTC collateral and issue a certificate that constrains the flow of value, while the final settlement remains a standard Bitcoin transaction.
• Technical Standards: QuFi stated that its design uses three post-quantum cryptography standards-ML-DSA-65, SLH-DSA and ML-KEM-1024-to handle signatures and secure key exchanges respectively.
• Performance optimization: The company's goal is to reduce the potential increase in storage, bandwidth and computing overhead caused by using larger post-quantum primitives directly in the blockchain.

Verification layer rather than blockchain upgrade

QuFi's main product concept revolves around an external verification layer. QuFi does not require each settlement network to adopt new post-quantum cryptographic rules, but instead proposes using a decentralized set of nodes to verify transactions quantum cryptographically before and after settlement.

In QuFi's framework, this architecture helps solve one of the most common implementation challenges in post-quantum transitions: larger keys and signatures lead to higher on-chain costs and performance overhead. By conducting verification outside the execution path, QuFi claims to aim to avoid the additional storage, bandwidth and computing requirements created by integrating post-quantum primitives directly into individual chains.

The post-quantum standard used by the platform covers digital signatures and key exchanges. QuFi lists ML-DSA-65 and SLH-DSA for signatures, as well as ML-KEM-1024 for secure key exchanges-these building blocks are used to generate and check cryptographic proof before existing blockchains settle.

Bitcoin Test Online uBTC: Proof of Constraints on the Flow of Value

QuFi also launched uBTC, describing it as a proof-of-concept system that applies verification methods to Bitcoin. The system is currently running on Bitcoin testnet4. According to QuFi, uBTC verifies BTC collateral and generates cryptographic certificates to regulate the movement of value between different settlement environments. Importantly, QuFi said redemptions will ultimately be settled in standard Bitcoin transactions. This means that the Bitcoin network does not need to run post-quantum signatures during the final settlement step-at least for this proof-of-concept.

This structure is noteworthy for investors and developers concerned about quantum readiness because it suggests a possible incremental migration path: keeping the "trust anchor" settlement layer stable while introducing stronger cryptographic verification elsewhere. The remaining question is how far such province-based settlement constraints can be adopted, especially when interacting with multiple networks and wallets with different validation and finality assumptions.

The Importance of Timing: Quantum defense efforts are accelerating

QuFi's announcement comes against the backdrop of the entire cryptocurrency industry's efforts to prepare for quantum-related risks. In August, it was reported that StarkWare tested quantum-resistant Bitcoin transactions on the main web without requiring forking. While the test demonstrated feasibility, the same report noted that the transaction required hours of computing time, cost approximately $150 to $200, and used a non-standard format that required submission directly to miners.

This previous experiment highlights the practical friction that QuFi is trying to bypass: Even if post-quantum methods are technically feasible, making them efficient and compatible with mainstream blockchain transaction processes is very difficult. QuFi's verification layer approach is positioned as a way to reduce these integration costs.

Institutional and regulatory efforts are also part of the picture. According to previous reports, banks and regulators from Europe, the Middle East and Asia have joined a pilot program to test post-quantum wallets and on-chain transfers using ML-DSA-65, one of the standards QuFi uses on its platform. At the same time, the Ethereum Foundation reportedly removed its planned Poseidon hash function from post-quantum architecture and switched to established alternatives such as SHA or BLAKE, reflecting a preference for reducing uncertainty by relying on primitives with broader operational familiarity.

Experiments at the Bitcoin protocol level: The tradeoff has emerged

In addition to off-chain or verification layer approaches, some quantum defenses against Bitcoin are being explored directly at the protocol or signature scheme level. In August, Blockstream researchers released a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) called SHRINCS, an experimental post-quantum signature scheme designed to reduce the size and performance costs associated with anti-quantum signatures.

However, the same report also highlighted restrictions and outstanding issues. SHRINCS relies on stateful signatures to reduce the signature size, which will require the wallet to track previously used signature keys. It is still in its early stages, there are no completed security certificates cited in the report, and it adds complexity and could increase the risk of user error if the wallet implementation fails to properly manage state.

Compared with these protocol-level directions, QuFi's focus is on reducing direct changes to the settlement chain. The practical lesson for readers is that quantum readiness is not a single technological replacement-it is a spectrum of strategies, from experimental signature schemes that modify transaction formats to independent verification systems that attempt to preserve existing settlement processes.

As the QuFi platform and uBTC evolve, key issues to focus on include: how well proof generation and verification perform under real-world loads; whether proof can be seamlessly integrated with broader wallet and settlement workflows; and how the project's approach performs in terms of cost and usability when compared to protocol-level quantum defenses such as SHRINCS. The next milestone-especially any extension beyond the test net and any evidence of interoperability-will likely determine whether verification layer quantum protection can move from concept to practical deployment.