AmericanFortress Proposes Zero-Knowledge Defense to Shield Crypto Wallets From Quantum Attacks

Blockchain security firm AmericanFortress has published research detailing a quantum-resistant architecture designed to shield Bitcoin and other digital asset wallets without requiring users to move their funds to new addresses. The Wyoming-based company proposed a protocol called ZKPoSP (Zero-Knowledge Proof of Seed Provenance), which swaps traditional digital signatures for cryptographic zero-knowledge proofs to protect private keys from future quantum decryption.

The technical paper, titled “ZKPoSP: Post-Quantum Zero-Knowledge Proofs for Hierarchical Deterministic Wallets,” addresses the looming threat known in cryptographic circles as “Q-Day”—the moment a fault-tolerant quantum computer becomes capable of running Shor’s algorithm. Under current standards, such a computer could calculate a private key directly from a public key exposed on a public ledger, undermining the elliptic curve cryptography that secures billions of dollars in digital assets.

Rather than forcing millions of wallet holders through a complex asset migration process, AmericanFortress’s architecture maintains compatibility with established key derivation standards, including BIP32, BIP44, and SLIP-10. The proposed system replaces elliptic curve transaction signatures with zero-knowledge proofs verifying that a user holds the underlying wallet seed phrase without ever revealing the seed itself. Accompanied by a key derivation scheme dubbed QBIP32, the protocol supports multiple elliptic curves while maintaining backward compatibility with existing hierarchical deterministic wallets.

Engineers implemented the ZKPoSP prototype in Rust utilizing the RISC Zero zero-knowledge virtual machine. Early performance benchmarks demonstrate proof generation times between 12 and 13 seconds, while verification requires roughly 9 to 10 milliseconds. The research also includes an optimized post-Q-Day operational mode intended to accelerate proof generation for specific transaction workflows.

Concerns over quantum vulnerabilities have intensified following recent hardware milestones, such as Google’s Willow quantum processor, which highlighted rapid progress toward cryptographically relevant quantum computing capability. On the Bitcoin network, public keys are revealed whenever a user broadcasts a spending transaction, leaving previously used addresses exposed. According to analysis from blockchain intelligence firm Glassnode, roughly 6.04 million Bitcoin—representing approximately 30 percent of the circulating supply—already have publicly revealed keys on the blockchain.

The research from AmericanFortress joins a growing wave of industry initiatives racing to fortify decentralized infrastructure against quantum threats. Earlier this month, Project Eleven outlined a post-quantum recovery mechanism utilizing seed phrase verification, while BTQ Technologies introduced a working prototype of BIP-360 on a dedicated “Bitcoin Quantum” testnet to evaluate resilient transaction formats. Institutional pushback against the threat has also ramped up outside software development; the U.S. Department of Commerce recently announced over $2 billion in funding for quantum research and manufacturing, and major industry players including BlackRock, Coinbase, Strategy, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Galaxy formed the Bitcoin Security Consortium, pledging $15 million over three years for security research.

Despite the benchmark results, the AmericanFortress proposal remains an unadopted academic blueprint. Deploying the system across active networks would demand widespread consensus and software integration across node operators, wallet vendors, exchanges, miners, and protocol developers.