QRL Monthly: feat second phase of grants programme - July 2023

Introducing Volt Development’s QRL Mobile Wallet and the rollout of the second stage of the grants programme. Better wallet address format is proposed, and the Zond beta testnet is almost ready to roll out.

technical

2nd August 2023

Highlights

QRL’s second phase grants programme launch

Quantum Resistant Ledger (QRL) proudly announced phase two of its grants programme, representing a major milestone in fostering a robust and distributed cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Phase 1 included grants to several partners such as:

Quantum Resistant Corporation (QRC), grant for supporting the post-quantum secure distributed blockchain technology, the Quantum Resistant Ledger.
Volt Development, grant for working on a mobile wallet to supercede our current one. More on that in this blog below!
Geometry Labs, grant for working on fusion post-quantum signatures.

With an ecosystem designed to withstand future cybersecurity challenges, QRL is dedicating significant resources to community projects, including quantum-resistant wallets and cryptography, to fortify against impending threats. As quantum computing progresses, the vulnerabilities within existing cryptocurrencies become more apparent.

To read more about the grants programme and apply from 1st August 2023 until 1st September 2023: https://qrl.foundation/grants.html

QRL Mobile Wallet - From Volt Development

We are happy to present our latest update, a tool menu with the following options: creating a message on the blockchain, notarizing documents,and verifying a notarized document. We have also added Russian to the languages. You can find a brief presentation on youtube

The key features within the wallet currently includes:

Creating a brand new wallet or accessing an existing wallet
Receiving transactions and sending transactions to one or multiple recipients simultaneously
The ability to add a message to your transaction
The option to add a wallet address to your personal address book
Viewing your transaction history
Available languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish
Receiving notifications for QRL price changes and/or received transactions
Ability to use your device’s security features
Ability to add a message on the blockchain
Ability to notarize a document on the blockchain
Ability to check a notarized document using the document hash

People who have already installed the app can update it automatically.

To join the iOS QRL Mobile Wallet beta version, open this testflight link on your iPhone. When you click the link, it will open a page with two steps to follow. The first step is to download the TestFlight app. The second step is to install your app. After you install TestFlight, go back to the link and press the install button on the second step.

To join the Android QRL Mobile Wallet beta version, download it from Google Play here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.volt.qrlmobile

For developers can check out the code on the Volt-Development gitlab.

Development updates

QRL Zond (Proof-of-Stake + EVM Smart Contracts)

The development of QRL Zond’s next phase, beta testnet (currently in devnet), continues.

The beacon and consensus engine are both operational with major roadblocks eliminated, but a few more bugs, including memory-related ones, must be fixed and P2P must be tested before the launch of the QRL Zond beta testnet release.

We’re thrilled to report that the project is extremely close to the launch of our public beta testnet, so L1 developers, get your testing and development gloves (and tunes) ready!

QRL Zond changelog

July 25

Added all the updates in the code related to Shanghai, Capella forks
Changes in the consensus Engine to directly start with Capella fork
Embedded BetaNet testnet configuration in the execution engine
Several bug fixes & refactoring
Updated dependencies versions

July 18

Fix for windows build
Memory utilization optimization
Added new REST API’s
Updated logic that deals with the fork choice
Refactoring
Added more unit tests

July 11

Fix: Sync committee message verification is now functional
Validator set is now generated in each epoch
Fix: Gossip max length increased to allow block transmission as the block contains consensus related signatures

July 4

Updated Sync Committee signing & getSyncAggregate to use Dilithium cryptography
Updated maximum Signature Size for Sync Committee
Added new constants related to Dilithium
Added fix related to some instructions which becomes invalid in some of the ARM processor

Post-quantum Fusion signatures

NIST has informed Geometry Labs that they are only moving forward with many-times signature schemes at this time and will not include one-time signature schemes like Fusion in the current standardisation process. Although their limited scope is disappointing, it’s encouraging to hear from them that they thought Fusion was an interesting one-time signature approach and encouraged Geometry Labs to publish it for further peer-review.

If NIST decides to pursue one-time signature approaches in the future, Fusion signatures can always be resubmitted.

A proposal for a better format of wallet addresses - QIP-018

Last month, Robert Pösel put together QIP-018, an improvement proposal towards a better encoding format of addresses (how information is presented visually in text).

While not targeted for the current QRL network, this would take the output length from 79 characters to 64 characters, a reducing the address character space of ~19%

1
2
3
Q01070050d31c7f123995f097bc98209e9231d663dc26e06085df55dc2f6afe3c2cd62e8271a6bd 
to 
qyrdoywgudt9trqci6nm53gbyu4jddiud5ouqyarf57k7am5k9a6n3itqoja4pxe

Be sure to check out QIP-018 for current, up to date examples and character lengths with our upcoming network, Zond.

Motivations mentioned for reducing the address length includes easier visual inspection and manual writing of addresses; cleaner interfaces due to reduced space required for a non-breakable string; and to improve friendliness when compared to other cryptocurrencies with shorter addresses. The goal is to not just be shorter, but to be friendly as well.

Interested? Be sure to read the full proposal on our website. Thoughts? Discussion is encouraged to take place in the GitHub pull-request, though can also be had more informally in one of our communities.

QRL Improvement Proposals (QIPs) is an open process to improve the QRL core protocol and other layers that effects most or all QRL technical implementations. Anyone can and is encouraged to submit a QRL Improvement Proposal (QIP) if they have an idea to improve the QRL core protocol.

QRL + QRL Zond Documentation changes

People are encouraged to use our new QRL documentation over at docs-beta.theqrl.org. This will supersede the current docs in place. Feedback and changes can be made to James Gordon.

For those wanted to run the latest Zond devnet and see what the next generation of QRL has in store, be sure to check out the Zond Documentation. Pull requests and issues can be made at it’s GitHub reposotory.

Other Changes

QRL is now listed on MEXC!

QRL is now trading as a QRL-USDT pair on MEXC thanks to a community effort! Be sure to check out our markets page for an up to date glance of where to find QRL, or join our community (discord) who made it happen.

Quantum News

U.S. Must Train Quantum Technology Workforce

On 31 Jul 2023: The United States currently lacks the talent required to maintain competitiveness in this field, posing a national security risk. The race to commercialize and deploy quantum systems has become a battleground of U.S.-China competition, with other countries like Australia, Japan, Canada, and the UK also making progress. The United States faces a shortage of quantum talent and a general STEM skills gap. To fill these gaps, international collaboration, initiatives to retain foreign-born workers, and reskilling programs are necessary. - foreignpolicy.com

EeroQ Tapes Out "Wonder Lake" Quantum Processing Unit Chip

On 29 Jul 2023: Quantum computing specialist EeroQ has successfully developed a Quantum Processing Unit (QPU) chip named "Wonder Lake" using a CMOS manufacturing approach. The chip is based on helium-electron qubits and has a qubit count of 2,432, making it one of the most densely populated QPU designs. EeroQ's qubits have a high level of coherence and mobility, leading to greater efficiency and reduced overhead for error correction mechanisms. The company aims to achieve high-quality quantum gates and scalability, positioning itself as a leader in the commercial quantum computing future. - tomshardware.com

Error Rate Reduced for Scalable Quantum Technology

On 24 Jul 2023: Researchers have made significant progress in improving the accuracy of a technology used to control quantum bits (qubits), which is essential for scaling up quantum computers. The technology uses flux quanta, units of magnetic flux, to control superconducting qubits. By physically separating the qubits from the control circuits, researchers achieved an accuracy above 99%. This development could provide a more scalable and practical pathway to quantum computation. Further refinements could potentially increase the accuracy even more. The improvement addresses a major obstacle in the development of large-scale quantum computers, which requires accurate results in the presence of environmental noise. - physics.aps.org

New form of silicon could revolutionize quantum computing

On 17 Jul 2023: Researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered a new distinct form of silicon called Q-silicon which, among other interesting properties, is ferromagnetic at room temperature. - mining.com

Record-breaking number of qubits entangled in a quantum computer

On 12 Jul 2023: A record-breaking number of quantum bits, or qubits, have been proven to be entangled inside a quantum computer. There have been previous attempts to achieve this with a relatively large number of qubits, but none have been able to verify the entanglement. - newscientist.com

Breakthrough identifies new state of topological quantum matter | Cornell Chronicle

On 11 Jul 2023: Scientists at Cornell University have identified a new phase of matter called a "spin-triplet electron-pair crystal" in the superconductor Uranium Ditelluride (UTe2). This discovery could have significant consequences for condensed matter physics and for the field of quantum computing and spintronics. - news.cornell.edu

Fluxonium Qubit Retains Information For 1.43 Milliseconds - 10x Longer Than Before

On 06 Jul 2023: Researchers from the University of Maryland have made a significant advancement in superconducting quantum technology by creating fluxonium qubits that can retain information for 1.43 milliseconds, which is a 10x improvement compared to the previous record. This breakthrough brings fluxonium qubits back in competition with transmon qubits, the current favorite for quantum computers developed by companies like Google and IBM. - sciencealert.com

Quantum computer built by Google can instantly execute a task that would normally take 47 years

On 04 Jul 2023: Google has developed a quantum computer that can perform calculations in a matter of seconds that would take the most advanced supercomputers nearly 50 years to process. - earth.com

Meet Q-silicon, a new magnetic material for spintronic quantum computers

On 03 Jul 2023: Engineers at North Carolina State University (NCSU) have discovered a new form of silicon called Q-silicon with properties that could be beneficial for quantum computers and spintronics. Q-silicon exhibits ferromagnetism at room temperature, making it suitable for data storage and potentially enabling advancements in spintronics. It also demonstrates enhanced hardness and superconductivity, which could further aid spintronics and quantum computing. - newatlas.com