Whitepaper

BMIC technical specification

BMIC is a post-quantum cryptocurrency built on NIST-ratified standards (FIPS 203 / 204 / 205), running on Ethereum with ERC-4337 smart account architecture, and integrated with two enterprise quantum-compute platforms (IBM Quantum and Origin Quantum). This page summarises the technical specification.

1. Threat model

Classical cryptocurrencies use elliptic-curve digital signatures (ECDSA) and elliptic-curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) for transaction authorisation and key exchange. Both are mathematically broken by Shor's algorithm executed on a sufficiently large quantum computer. The expected timeline for "Q-Day" — the moment a cryptographically-relevant quantum computer becomes available — has compressed sharply: IBM's 1,121-qubit Condor processor (2023), continuing scaling roadmaps at IBM, Google, and Origin Quantum, and DARPA-style "harvest-now-decrypt-later" (HNDL) attack patterns make the threat operationally relevant today, not in 2050.

BMIC is built for the post-Q-Day cryptocurrency landscape. Every cryptographic primitive used in BMIC is selected from the NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography programme's ratified standards.

2. Cryptographic primitives

  • CRYSTALS-Kyber (ML-KEM, FIPS 203) — module-lattice-based key encapsulation. Used for ephemeral key exchange and HNDL-resistant data transport.
  • CRYSTALS-Dilithium (ML-DSA, FIPS 204) — module-lattice-based digital signature scheme. Used for transaction signing, replacing ECDSA.
  • SPHINCS+ (SLH-DSA, FIPS 205) — stateless hash-based signature scheme. Used as a conservative-security signature option for high-value or long-lived signing operations.
  • AES-256 (PQC-hardened) — symmetric encryption with key sizes resistant to Grover's algorithm (128-bit effective security against quantum attack).
  • SHA-3 / SHAKE — hash functions used in commitment schemes and Merkle trees, selected for post-quantum security margins.

Implementation traces directly to the NIST published standards. See the NIST PQC project page for primary sources.

3. Account architecture (ERC-4337)

BMIC wallets are not externally-owned accounts (EOAs). They are smart contract accounts under ERC-4337 account abstraction. This delivers three properties critical to a post-quantum cryptocurrency:

  • Signature-scheme agility — the account can verify multiple signature schemes (Dilithium, SPHINCS+, even classical ECDSA for backwards compatibility), and the verification logic can be upgraded.
  • Migration path — a wallet that started with classical signatures can be upgraded to PQC without a manual seed-phrase migration. The account abstraction layer handles signer rotation atomically.
  • Programmable security policies — multi-sig, social recovery, spending limits, session keys — all expressible in the account contract without a bespoke wallet.

4. Quantum-compute integration

BMIC's roadmap includes a decentralized quantum-compute network. The current implementation provides direct, free access for token holders to two enterprise quantum-compute platforms:

  • IBM Quantum — Qiskit-based. Token holders can submit quantum circuits to IBM's enterprise quantum processors via the BMIC platform integration. Used today by research teams developing quantum algorithms and validating quantum-resistance research.
  • Origin Quantum — PyQPanda-based. Origin Quantum operates one of the largest quantum-compute platforms outside the US, serving Asian research institutions.

See /quantum-access/ for the full quantum-compute access programme.

5. Wallet vulnerability checker

BMIC ships a public tool — free for everyone, with extended history for holders — that scans an Ethereum-format public address and returns a quantum-risk grade based on the wallet's signature exposure history. The check considers:

  • Whether the wallet has ever signed a transaction (revealing the public key, which under HNDL becomes vulnerable post-Q-Day)
  • Public-key reuse across multiple transactions (compounds exposure)
  • Balance-at-risk if a quantum computer were available today against the historical signatures
  • Migration path recommendations
Run the wallet checker →

6. Audit & verification

The BMIC token and presale contracts have been independently audited. Full audit report (PDF) covers attack-surface analysis, access-control review, reentrancy, integer-overflow, signature replay, ownership, and pause/upgrade authority.

Download smart contract audit (PDF) →

Further reading

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