A Performance Comparison of Post-Quantum Algorithms in Blockchain

Abstract

Blockchain and other Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) have triggered widespread research and interest. This is due to its ability to create redundant, transparent, and accountable connections in various application domains while utilizing asymmetric cryptography, digital signature, and hash functions. However, the current blockchain system exhibits vulnerability to attacks, especially those staged and actualized using quantum computers leveraging Grover’s and Shor’s algorithms. There is a need to examine the various algorithms of digital signatures, post-quantum generations of public-key cryptography, and their performance to gain insights into the most suitable way to address the issue. In our review, we examine the performance of different post-quantum public-key generation and digital signature algorithms in blockchain and provide a performance comparison of computing time and memory usage. The research presented here includes application domains where post-quantum blockchain may be used.