+/ STATUS: IN_DEVELOPMENT · FIPS_204/205 · BIP-360_DIRECTION · HARTWELL_LABS
PQBIT_
// SYS: RUST · ML-DSA-44 · SLH-DSA · UTXO · POW · FAIR_LAUNCH
// WHY: ~7M_BTC_QUANTUM_EXPOSED // WE_ARE_BORN_SAFE
Bitcoin rebuilt with fifteen years of hindsight: NIST-standardized post-quantum signatures from block one, lightweight nodes, and a fair-launch constitution with a founder stash that is never moved. Following the BIP-360 (P2MR) direction — merged into the Bitcoin BIPs repo, February 2026.
/ What it is
pqbit is a post-quantum Bitcoin implementation in Rust: a UTXO transaction model signed with ML-DSA-44 and SLH-DSA-SHA2-128s (both NIST FIPS standards) via the bitcoinpqc crate — no homemade crypto. Not a faster Bitcoin, not a token sale: one thesis, executed cleanly — the chain that doesn't need to migrate, because it was born post-quantum.
- Built
- Rust core, bitcoinpqc (FIPS-certified C)
- Signatures
- ML-DSA-44 + SLH-DSA-SHA2-128s
- Launch
- Fair — zero premine, zero presale
- Status
- Phase 3: gossiping p2p testnet node, CI green
[01] // FEATURES
BORN_QUANTUM_SAFE,
NEVER_MIGRATED.
ML-DSA-44
FIPS 204 lattice signatures — compact, fast verification, standardized by NIST.
SLH-DSA-SHA2-128s
FIPS 205 hash-based signatures — the conservative fallback with no algebraic structure to break.
UTXO core
Bitcoin's proven accounting: TxIn/TxOut, canonical sighash over the PQ preimage.
No homemade crypto
All primitives via bitcoinpqc — the code glues NIST standards, never invents.
Lightweight by design
Compact blocks and an SPV light client are core features — a laptop is a full citizen.
Fair-launch constitution
Zero premine, zero presale; founder stash capped at 100 coins, public address, never moved.
[02] // TOKENOMICS
FAIR_LAUNCH.
NO_ASTROTOKENS.
Zero premine
No presale, no VC allocation, no insider batch. The only way coins enter the world is mining — from block one, like 2009.
Founder stash: 100 coins
Capped, public address, published at genesis — and never moved. Moving one coin ends the project's narrative. That is the bond.
Fixed supply, public emission
Capped supply with a predictable emission schedule — final parameters published before genesis. No surprises, no governance printer.
Miner-friendly from day one
The PoW pick favors commodity hardware at launch — distribution over ASIC farms. A laptop is a valid miner, not a tourist.
Hartwell Labs takes nothing on-chain
The lab earns around the protocol — grants, support, documentation — never by selling tokens to the community.
[03] // HUB
FIND_IT_
AROUND_THE_WEB.
[04] // ROADMAP
SHIPPED_IN_
THE_OPEN.
Core primitives
pqbit-core in Rust: PQ transaction model, canonical sighash, ML-DSA/SLH-DSA sign & verify. 4/4 tests, CI green.
Testnet node
Lightweight node in Rust: PoW headers, PQ-validated UTXO set, miner, CLI. Public testnet anyone can join with a laptop.
Peer-to-peer network
Gossiping p2p: addr exchange (one seed reveals the mesh), push/pull block relay, every block PQ-validated on arrival. Next: mempool, reorgs.
Genesis parameters
Supply cap, emission curve, PoW choice — drafted for public review before a fair, timestamped launch with kill-criteria agreed in advance.
[05] // CONSTITUTION
NON_NEGOTIABLE
RULES.
PQC from genesis — no legacy mode
ML-DSA-44 (FIPS 204) and SLH-DSA-SHA2-128s (FIPS 205) are the only signature schemes at the consensus layer. There is no ECDSA fallback to maintain, no migration to schedule. The chain is born where Bitcoin wants to arrive.
Lightweight is a feature, not a marketing word
PQ signatures are big — we budget for it honestly: compact blocks, efficient UTXO commitments, and an SPV light client are core engineering goals. Full participation on commodity hardware.
Kill criteria — written before launch
If six months after mainnet genesis fewer than 50 nodes exist outside the founding team, the coin experiment is frozen and pqbit returns to pure research. Sunk cost kills projects; we pre-signed the exit.
Built in the open
Every commit is public from day zero. Roadmap, genesis drafts and failures included. Hartwell Labs ships for real — this page and the repo are the same story.
[06] // FAQ
STRAIGHT_ANSWERS.
Is this a token sale?
No. There has never been a presale and there never will be. The only monetary event is mining from genesis.
Why not just wait for BIP-360 on Bitcoin?
If BIP-360 activates, pqbit served as a working reference implementation — a research win. If the market wants a quantum-resistant chain sooner, pqbit already exists. Both outcomes are wins.
PQ signatures are huge. Isn't that a dealbreaker?
It's the engineering budget. ML-DSA-44 is ~2.4 KB per signature vs 64 B for Schnorr — and the architecture plans for it: compact blocks, lean UTXO commitments, light client. Honest trade-offs, published.
Will the founder stash be dumped?
The 100-coin founder address is published at genesis and watched publicly. It is a reputational bond, not an allocation. One moved coin and the project's own story turns against it.
Can I participate now?
Yes — read the code, run the tests, review the genesis drafts when they land. The repo is the front door: github.com/BartoszOsiej/pqbit.
[04] // SUBPAGES
DEPLOYED_ON_
GH_PAGES.
[05] // PROOF // SHIPPED_AND_RUNNING
PROOF_OF_WORK.
Real captures from running the tool on this machine. No mockups.
[06] // BLOG // WRITEUPS
Write-ups live in /blog/ — full archive with reddit-grade voting, accounts and discussions under every post.