BTQ launches "Bitcoin Quantum" testnet to address quantum challenges

Post-quantum cryptography institution BTQ Technologies has launched a permissionless forked testnet called “Bitcoin Quantum” to protect the Bitcoin blockchain. Chris Tam, Head of Partnerships at BTQ, stated that the network operates publicly, allowing miners, developers, researchers, and users to conduct post-quantum transaction stress tests and reveal real-world trade-offs during operation. The system adopts the post-quantum algorithm Dilithium (ML-DSA), which was standardized in the United States in August 2024, but due to high operational costs, it has not yet been widely adopted in the cryptocurrency sector.