A post-quantum L1 for the world after secp256k1
The threshold of Q-Day
Every major chain stakes its security on elliptic-curve cryptography that a large enough quantum computer breaks with Shor's algorithm. You can't patch a live network into post-quantum safety; you build the chain around the new primitives from genesis.
10–20 yr
Conservative CRQC horizon (5–10 yr optimistic)
01Adversaries already archive today's public chain data and signatures, waiting for a cryptographically relevant quantum computer. Anything signed under ECDSA or wrapped under X25519 today is on the clock. A blockchain sits more exposed than most systems: its data is public, its history is immutable, and every spent public key stays on-chain forever.
02Aggregated BLS quorums collapse the moment pairing-based assumptions stop holding. A chain whose finality depends on BLS aggregation has no graceful failure mode.
03Bolting post-quantum crypto onto secp256k1 chains breaks address schemes, finality, and a decade of tooling. A chain has to lay its post-quantum stack at the genesis block.
< 1M qubits
Gidney 2025: RSA-2048 estimate, down from ~20M (2019)
2030 / 2035
NIST IR 8547: deprecate after 2030, disallow after 2035
2030 / 2035
NIST IR 8547: deprecate after 2030, disallow after 2035
10–20 yr
Conservative CRQC horizon (5–10 yr optimistic)
< 1M qubits
Gidney 2025: RSA-2048 estimate, down from ~20M (2019)
The name
Atom
Technology
Quantum
Mainnet
Three roles, one transport
Every node speaks the same encrypted, ML-KEM-derived transport. Only the cargo changes.
Discovery: tANR records and peer discovery. No validator state, no execution data.
Public Execution: Finalized block sync, transaction gossip, snap-style state distribution.
Validator: HotStuff proposals, votes, quorum certificates, commits, and finality certificates.
ML-KEM-768 + AES-GCM + ML-DSA transcript binding
ML-KEM-768 derives the session key
AES-GCM provides AEAD with replay protection and epoch rekeying
ML-DSA signs the handshake transcript, blocking downgrade attacks
Post-quantum stack
NIST-standardized where it counts, named layer by layer rather than sold as a top-to-bottom sweep
| Layer | Primitive |
|---|---|
Transaction | ML-DSA / FN-DSA single-key or threshold-of-N |
Validator consensus | ML-DSA no BLS, no aggregation |
Transport key | ML-KEM-768 all node-to-node transport |
Transport AEAD | AES-GCM replay protection + epoch rekeying |
Node identity | ML-DSA + ML-KEM keys bound in ATQMNodeId |
Transaction model
A Solidity contract that compiled and ran on Ethereum compiles and runs on ATQM; only the signing layer underneath changed
EVM-compatible
Nonce, chain id, gas, EIP-1559 fees, access lists, EIP-2718 envelopes, RLP. Solidity tooling carries over
PQ-signed
ML-DSA / FN-DSA replaces ECDSA on every transaction envelope. Same addresses, new signatures underneath
Same bytecode
A Solidity contract that compiled on Ethereum compiles and runs on ATQM. Opcodes, gas, and receipts stay familiar
Cleaner surface
Same EVM surface, different signing spine. Only the cryptography underneath changed — not the contract model developers touch
Performance
Honest qualification: a 4-validator smoke run is a code-correctness signal, not a production benchmark. Behaviour at production scale (50+ validators, real geography, ML-DSA quorums without aggregation) is still to be tested. The round timeout is not the block interval; finality waits on real payload-build, proposal, vote-quorum, QC, commit-vote-quorum, and persistence time
< 1 s
Deterministic finality on a healthy network
300+
Blocks finalized end-to-end in smoke runs
4
Validators + full-client topology, verified
0
Probabilistic confirmations to wait through
ATQM WALLET
Up to 4%
Cashback on every qualified purchase
Free transfers
Send money across borders for free and in seconds
Up to 6%
Keep earning on your balance until you spend
180+ countries
Spend wherever Visa is accepted
One core, many surfaces
ATQM is the post-quantum core. Trading, staking, bridging, and wallets all settle on the same ML-DSA / ML-KEM spine, so the surface a user touches can't weaken the security underneath.
Showing Dex, slide 1 of 4
Roadmap & wallets
ATQM is the post-quantum core. Trading, staking, bridging, and wallets all settle on the same ML-DSA / ML-KEM spine, so the surface a user touches can't weaken the security underneath.
FaceID / fingerprint unlocks a Secure Enclave / StrongBox-isolated worker. The PQ key never leaves cleartext.
MetaMask-shaped EIP-1193 provider plus a native atqm_* surface for PQ signing and order types
Paired-mobile QR handoff today; native ML-DSA firmware on Ledger / Trezor when vendors ship it
Roadmap
ATQM is the post-quantum core. Trading, staking, bridging, and wallets all settle on the same ML-DSA / ML-KEM spine, so the surface a user touches can't weaken the security underneath.
atqm network
ATQM rebuilds Ethereum's execution stack on NIST-standardized post-quantum primitives. It replaces every signature, key exchange, and consensus message, runs HotStuff finality instead of Gasper, and keeps a decade of Reth engineering.
EVM where it counts. New cryptography everywhere else
