The Quantum Apocalypse

And Why Mimblewimble Based Coins Could Survive

Imagine a morning when nothing is secure anymore.

Your Bitcoin wallet is empty. Your bank was powerless. Your passwords are public. The internet works – but nobody dares to use it anymore. Encrypted connections no longer exist. Every secret is revealed.

What sounds like a dystopian thriller is a mathematically inevitable future: the post-quantum era. Not a question of if, but when.

Shor's Algorithm: The Grim Reaper of Encryption

At the center of this threat stands one name: Shor. His algorithm solves fundamental problems of classical cryptography in seconds – provided a powerful quantum computer is available:

• Factorization of large numbers (RSA broken)

• Discrete logarithms (Elliptic curves broken)

• Signature schemes like ECDSA (private keys derivable)

What would take 2¹⁰⁰⁰ years today can then be computed in minutes with around 4000 error-corrected qubits.

Store Now – Decrypt Later: The Invisible Time Bomb

The real danger begins right now. Attackers can collect encrypted data today – financial transactions, chats, emails – and decrypt them later once the technology becomes available. A global surveillance attack on time.

Example: A Monero transaction from 2024 can be exposed in 2040 – despite once being considered “private”.

The Selective Collapse: Who Survives?

The quantum apocalypse doesn't affect everyone equally. Some cryptocurrencies are more vulnerable, others structurally more robust:

• Post-Quantum-Coins (still in development): Promises without maturity.

• Bitcoin: Secure only for unspent coins – every spend makes vulnerable.

• Ethereum: Public from day 1 – perfect target.

• Monero & Zcash: Strong today, completely exposed tomorrow.

• Mimblewimble: No shield – but a shadow.

Irony: Privacy coins like Monero or Zcash, which promise anonymity, store large amounts of cryptographic data for this purpose – a feast for future quantum attackers.

• Monero: Ring signatures become unique identifiers.

• Zcash: zk-SNARKs lose their security with the fall of elliptic curves.

Mimblewimble: Invisible Instead of Unbreakable

Mimblewimble is not quantum-secure – but structurally resilient. It doesn't protect through impenetrable walls, but through ephemeral architecture. What isn't stored can't be broken.

1. No Permanent Public Keys

Where Bitcoin knows static addresses, Mimblewimble only has one-time, fleeting key pairs. No address history, no targets. A quantum attacker sees – nothing.

2. Minimal Attack Surface

While Monero and Zcash store permanent cryptographic proofs, Mimblewimble restricts itself to the essentials:

• Pedersen Commitments (UTXOs)

• Schnorr Signatures (Kernels)

No extra metadata. No archives. No incriminating past.

3. Cut-Through: Cryptographic Forgetting

The key to resilience is forgetting.

Spent outputs are removed through cut-through. The blockchain only stores the current state. No history for tomorrow's quantum computer.

Example:

• Alice sends a payment in 2024.

• In 2025, the output is used again.

• Cut-through deletes old data.

• In 2040, nothing exists that a quantum computer could analyze.

4. Rolling Security: A Shedding Snake

Every new transaction replaces old cryptographic material. The blockchain renews itself continuously. No permanent identity. No archive to penetrate.

Adaptability: Evolution Instead of Demolition

The real strength of Mimblewimble lies not in resistance, but in the ability to adapt.

Currently, Mimblewimble uses secp256k1 (elliptic curve) – an attack target for Shor. But: The commitment scheme is exchangeable. The architecture remains.

An image: Other blockchains are concrete bunkers. If the structure becomes unsafe, it must be demolished. Mimblewimble, however, is a flexible building – the lock can be changed without altering the structure.

Three Phases for Post-Quantum Migration

Hybrid Operation

Classical and post-quantum commitments run in parallel. Users decide per transaction.

Gradual Migration

Through natural usage and cut-through, old data disappears from the chain, new commitments take over.

Post-Quantum Operation

The chain runs completely on new, quantum-secure methods – old structures are gone.

Conclusion: No revolution. A controlled shedding.

Final Conclusion: No Immunity. But Resilience.

Mimblewimble is not a magic shield against quantum attacks. But it shows how a minimalist, forgetting approach can survive better than over-complex systems with maximum transparency.

In a world where everything can be decrypted, perhaps the best defense is:

Leaving nothing behind that can be decrypted.

And knowing that you can change the lock cylinder – before someone finds the master key.