Researchers at AmericanFortress, a privacy-focused blockchain startup, have introduced a patent-pending post-quantum signature scheme designed to secure the global crypto ecosystem against future quantum attacks without requiring mass fund migrations. The company claims the breakthrough can protect even Satoshi Nakamoto's 1.1 million bitcoin stash and nearly 5 million BTC in dormant accounts, worth about $400 billion. CEO Michal Pospieszalski explained that older bitcoin from Satoshi-era wallets, which are Pre-BIP32 addresses with no seed phrase derivation, require a defensive freeze via a backward-compatible soft fork. The protocol would automatically freeze these funds until governance decides to move, burn, or redistribute them. The announcement follows an $8 million seed funding round co-led by SAVA Digital Asset Fund, Moon Pursuit Capital, and 0G Labs. AmericanFortress's approach uses zero-knowledge proofs and three distinct solutions: Pre-BIP32 raw key protection, standard BIP32 quantum protection, and a high-speed QBIP32 derivation scheme. The threat is concentrated on exposed public keys; over $600 billion in crypto assets, including 100% of Solana addresses, are vulnerable. For active users, migration to quantum-proof takes 50 milliseconds via a wallet prompt. The cryptographic methods for bitcoin are expected to be discussed in Paris on June 2. Pospieszalski sees this as a turning point for digital asset longevity.

Key facts

• AmericanFortress developed a patent-pending post-quantum signature scheme to protect crypto assets.
• The scheme can freeze dormant BTC, including Satoshi's 1.1M BTC, via a soft fork.
• Over $600B in crypto assets, including 100% of Solana addresses, are vulnerable to quantum attack.
• Active users can migrate to quantum-proof wallets in 50 milliseconds.
• The company raised $8M seed funding and will present in Paris on June 2.

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