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Quantos Lightpaper

Post-Quantum Layer 1 with Universal Finality

Version 2.2 — July 2026

1. In One Sentence​

Quantos is a quantum-resistant Layer 1 blockchain that also acts as a Layer 0 — it exports post-quantum security to Ethereum, Solana, Sui, Aptos, NEAR, and every major chain.

2. The Problem​

Quantum computers will break ECDSA, secp256k1, and Ed25519 — the cryptography behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and virtually all blockchains. Most projects plan to retrofit PQC later. Quantos builds it from genesis.

3. Quantos Layer 1​

Post-Quantum Cryptography (NIST-finalized)​

AlgorithmStandardSecurity LevelUsed For
ML-DSA-65FIPS 204 (Aug 2024)NIST Level 3Transaction signatures, finality, cross-chain attestations
ML-KEM-768FIPS 203 (Aug 2024)NIST Level 3Encrypted mempool, validator P2P encryption
Rescue-Prime + STARK VRFRescue-Prime hash + STARK proof—Unpredictable, grind-proof committee selection
SPHINCS+SPHINCS+ (NIST)NIST Level 3Additional hash-based PQC operations

All signatures, encryptions, and randomness are post-quantum from day one.

QuantumDAG Consensus​

A 3-layer BFT consensus derived from peer-reviewed protocols (Narwhal, Bullshark, HotStuff-2):

  • Layer 1 — DAG fast path: parallel transaction inclusion via a Directed Acyclic Graph (2–8 parents per vertex).
  • Layer 2 — Committee BFT: small VRF-selected committees (21 validators) vote on ordering; 2-chain commit rule for fast finality.
  • Layer 3 — Super-committee checkpoint: deterministic, irreversible finality every ~1 second.

Safety: runtime-checked invariants detect equivocation and attribute it for slashing. Liveness: guaranteed after GST (partial synchrony), with adaptive timeouts.

Dynamic Sharding​

State is partitioned across 100–10,000 shards that auto-scale with load. Each shard runs its own DAG, committee, and mempool. Cross-shard transactions commit atomically via a STARK-verified 2-phase commit.

QuantosVM​

Smart contracts execute in a WebAssembly (WASM) sandbox (Wasmer + Cranelift):

  • Bytecode-invisible: deployed code is encrypted at rest; only a 32-byte hash is public.
  • Multi-language: Solidity compiles to WASM via Solang; Ethereum ABI compatibility via ERC router.
  • Parallel execution: transaction dependency graph + MVCC snapshot isolation + speculative execution.

Native Token Standards​

First-class, protocol-level token standards with built-in safety (overflow, reentrancy, approval-race protection):

StandardEquivalentPurpose
QN4ERC-20Fungible tokens
QN8ERC-721NFTs
QN12ERC-1155Multi-token

Zero-Gas Execution (STACC)​

No per-transaction gas fees. Users transact within a stake-proportional compute-unit (CU) quota. Persistent storage is priced via state rent (20% burned, 80% to validators). New users with zero stake can be sponsored by applications.

Sustainable Tokenomics​

Validator rewards come from three sources that progressively shift away from inflation:

  1. Targeted inflation: 3–5% declining toward a 1% floor as staking rate approaches 67%.
  2. State rent: grows with adoption, projected to become the dominant revenue source within 3–5 years.
  3. Slash redistribution: 80% to honest validators, 20% burned.

4. Quantos Layer 0​

The L0 is Quantos' finality hub. It lets any blockchain verify that Quantos has confirmed something — without trusting a third party.

How it works:

  1. Quantos cryptographically verifies a proof from an external chain (e.g. Ethereum sync committee, Bitcoin SPV).
  2. Quantos validators sign with ML-DSA-65.
  3. Signatures are aggregated off-chain and compressed into a 32-byte STARK commitment.
  4. Smart contracts on the target chain verify the commitment on-chain (cheap SLOAD).

Honest trust model:

ChainVerification
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cosmos✅ Cryptographic light-client
Solana, NEAR, Polkadot, TON, Cardano, Tezos, Stellar, Tron, Canton Network, Internet Computer⚠️ Oracle attestation (upgradable to crypto as light clients become available)

Deployed on 14 chains — 9 with full PQC-Guard smart accounts, 5 with L0 verifier anchoring.

5. PQC-Guard: User Security​

PQC-Guard is the smart-account system that lets users:

  • Migrate funds via a 3-mechanism model: direct registration + proof-of-possession, 48h anti-theft delay with guardian alert, and social-recovery M-of-N for already-compromised accounts.
  • Secure assets behind M-of-N attestations from Quantos validators (verified on-chain with WOTS hash-based signatures — no lattice arithmetic needed on destination chains).
  • Recover funds via guardians if Quantos becomes unavailable (30-day timeout escape hatch).

Deployed on: Ethereum, Base, Solana, Sui, Aptos, NEAR, Stellar, Tron, Canton Network, Internet Computer.

6. Sidechains​

Application-specific sidechains run custom runtimes (gaming, DeFi, private validator sets) while inheriting L1 economic security via a proof-of-stake bridge with periodic state commitments and fraud-proof dispute windows.

7. Ecosystem​

On-chain application suite deployed on testnet:

  • Vybss — Super-app with DEX (concentrated-liquidity AMM), stablecoin (SQTEST), bridge, lending, perpetual futures, restaking, predictions, NFT marketplace, and AI tools.
  • SDKs — JavaScript/TypeScript L0 SDK, PQC-Guard SDK, and wallet extension SDK.
  • Wallet Extension — Post-quantum key management (ML-DSA-65) for browser and mobile.
  • Governance — On-chain DAO with stake-weighted voting, timelock execution, and treasury management.

8. Why It's Different​

Classic ApproachQuantos
Isolated L1 chainL1 + L0 + sidechains interconnected
Expensive PQC retrofitNative NIST-finalized PQC from genesis
Centralized bridges (multisig)Cryptographic + STARK trustless verification
Per-transaction gasZero-gas + state rent
Each chain manages its own PQCQuantos provides PQC to everyone