PQ Account
LitVMSwap is researching how to protect funds on LitVM against future quantum computers. The PQ Account is the first result: a smart account that won't move your funds unless your wallet and a post-quantum key both say yes. It's live as an experiment, and we'll keep making it better.
The idea in one minute
Today's wallets sign with cryptography that a big enough quantum computer could one day break. The PQ Account adds a second lock that's built only from hash functions (the NIST standard SLH-DSA, FIPS 205), which quantum computers aren't known to break.
- Your wallet still sends every transaction, like always.
- A guardian key made in your browser adds a post-quantum signature to anything that moves funds out.
- A thief needs both. Most thefts today only get one of them.
How to use it
Create two guardian keys
A primary and a backup, both made right in your browser. Only the public part ever goes on chain.
Save both backup files
Protect them with a password, download them, then load them once to prove they work. Nobody can reset that password, so write it down somewhere safe, away from the files.
Create your account
One account per wallet, owned by that wallet. It costs a little zkLTC for gas.
Deposit
Send zkLTC or any LitVM token to your account. Deposits only need your wallet.
Send or withdraw
Pick a guardian file and type its password. It signs that exact action once, and your wallet sends it.
If something goes wrong
- Lost your primary file? Use the backup key to replace it.
- Lost your wallet? With both guardian files you can move the account to a new wallet. The move waits 7 days, and during that time the owner can cancel it.
- Lost both files? Then nobody can recover the account, not even LitVMSwap. Keep those backups safe.
The honest limits
The PQ Account is experimental and not audited. Start with small amounts you can afford to lose.
- It protects what's inside the account. LitVM itself, your normal wallet and some token contracts still use today's classic cryptography.
- Post-quantum signatures are big, so sending from the account costs more gas than a normal transfer.
- There's no server and no admin: reads come straight from LitVM and your wallet sends every transaction. That also means nobody can undo your mistakes.
Want the deep dive? The app has a full explainer at How the PQ account works, and you can start at PQ Account.