A Detailed Explanation of Abelian: The World's First Quantum-Resistant Multi-Level Privacy Protection Public Blockchain
Abelian is a quantum-safe blockchain network that utilizes post-quantum zero-knowledge proof systems and cryptographic schemes to defend against attacks from quantum computers.Author: Abelian
The legendary figure Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin white paper in 2008, marking the birth of Bitcoin (BTC). Bitcoin is a means of storing value, or simply a digital gold solution. With the advent of blockchain, digital assets can be transferred from one person's account to another without any intermediary. This revolutionary technology eliminates some of the negative impacts of centralization and creates numerous opportunities for developers.
Decentralization and security are the essence of Bitcoin. However, the emergence of quantum computers may lead to Bitcoin being less secure than imagined.
Quantum computing utilizes the collective properties of quantum states (superposition, interference, and entanglement) to perform computations. Devices that execute quantum computing are known as quantum computers. Quantum computing also drives the development of computing technology as a whole, making weather forecasts more accurate, financial analysis more precise, and the invention of new drugs faster and more effective.
In 2019, Google CEO Sundar Pichai with a quantum computer
You can think of quantum computers as powerful machines capable of executing advanced algorithms and tasks. On the other hand, quantum computers also have the potential to eliminate all current political, social, and economic structures operating online. This means that websites you use daily, such as Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Gmail, could be deleted by quantum computers.
But what if I told you that quantum computers have the ability to destroy Bitcoin?
Yes, you read that right. Let me repeat it—quantum computers have the ability to destroy Bitcoin. Therefore, if all crypto assets in the world are not quantum-resistant, it means that cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, XRP, and any others you can think of will be cracked.
Scientists at the University of Sussex estimate that a quantum system with 13 million qubits would be sufficient to crack the cryptographic algorithms protecting the Bitcoin blockchain (based on elliptic curve cryptography) within 24 hours.
For quantum computers, 13 million qubits sounds like a lot. You might think this benchmark would take hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years to achieve. But it may happen sooner than you expect:
In 2019, Google and IBM independently built their respective 53-qubit quantum computers.
In 2021, the Boston startup QuEra built a 256-qubit quantum computer.
In 2023, IBM built a quantum computer with 1,000 qubits, with plans to expand to 4,000 qubits by 2025 and reach 100,000 by 2033.
PsiQuantum has raised $215 million from major tech investors, including Microsoft, to build a quantum computer with 1 million qubits.
In 2023, major companies and apps with over 100 million users, such as Microsoft, Google, and Signal, have already deployed quantum attack-resistant algorithms.
The threat of quantum computers is already at hand! Leading global enterprises have begun to lay out plans and prepare.
The crypto asset industry should also start to actively embrace and fully enter the quantum-resistant era.
Post-quantum cryptography is the development of cryptographic systems for classical computers to defend against attacks initiated by quantum computers.
The goal of post-quantum cryptography is to develop cryptographic systems that are secure against both quantum and classical computers and can interoperate with existing communication protocols and networks.
Currently, the elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) used by Bitcoin and other blockchain systems is insecure in the face of quantum computing. Researchers (https://doi.org/10.1116/5.0073075) estimate that a quantum computer with 1.9 billion qubits would be able to crack the Bitcoin system in 10 minutes. To achieve this feat in one hour, a machine would only need 317 million qubits. Researchers and developers are racing to build the first scientifically validated secure and real-time post-quantum blockchain system.
The Abelian Foundation has keenly insight into the changes in the industry. Starting in 2018, a group of top cryptographers from the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and other regions initiated research on quantum attack resistance. After four years of continuous R&D, the technical solutions have gained widespread recognition in the cryptography industry and have been published in top global journals. After thorough preparation, the Abelian Foundation released a 140-page white paper in early 2022, and in March of the same year, the mainnet was launched, initially achieving the goal of "deploying a quantum-resistant blockchain infrastructure to realize digital gold 2.0 and support the post-quantum cryptography ecosystem."
Abelian, as a global quantum-resistant + privacy-protecting L1 blockchain, adopts NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) standardized lattice-based cryptographic algorithms and has proven its security through cryptography, aiming to realize digital gold 2.0, create a quantum-resistant and privacy-protecting crypto ecosystem, and build L2 networks and post-quantum zero-knowledge bridges to support EVM-equivalent blockchain networks, empowering Web3 and DeFi applications. Abelian utilizes a lattice-based cryptographic linkable ring signature scheme to support the anonymity and untraceability of senders. In response to the impossible triangle dilemma of blockchain—scalability, security, and decentralization—Abelian L1 is positioned to insist on security (quantum attack resistance + privacy protection) and decentralization (PoW consensus). In terms of scalability, the foundation will launch L2 in the second quarter of 2024, fully supporting EVM and expanding the application ecosystem, serving as the foundation for DeFi, Web3, and Metaverse applications. In early 2024, Abelian will officially initiate a hard fork to implement the multi-layer privacy protection technology clearly outlined in its roadmap. In addition to the existing full privacy layer, the abec nodes powering the Abelian network will support an anonymous layer (Pseudonymous), allowing users to create anonymous ABEL addresses. By using this type of address, we allow users to track our transfer transactions and view wallet balances on the block resource explorer, similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum networks; at the same time, Abelian also supports regulatory-compliant privacy (Compliant-Private) protection levels. Users from different countries and regions can choose different privacy protection addresses for use according to local regulations and laws. Meanwhile, the Abelian technical team is working hard to develop the Abelian User Token (AUT), which will become the world's first protocol that empowers users to issue their own quantum-secure encrypted assets. This protocol is expected to be completed and implemented in the second quarter of 2024. In the next 24 months, the Abelian Foundation will successively establish a fully open-source and developer-driven open community to further expand the Abelian quantum-resistant blockchain ecosystem.
Having gained an understanding of the overview of the Abelian blockchain, let's take a look at Abelian's native token—ABEL.
The total supply of ABEL is 225.18 million, or 2^{51} - 1 Neutrinos, where Neutrino is the smallest currency unit in Abelian, and 1 ABEL = 10⁷ Neutrinos.
Abelian produces a block every 256 seconds (approximately 4.27 minutes) and checks and adjusts the mining difficulty every 4,000 blocks (approximately 11.8 days). Every 400,000 blocks constitute an epoch (approximately 3.25 years), with the block reward for the first epoch being 256 ABEL, halving for each subsequent epoch, and the last epoch's block reward being 0.5 ABEL. Among them, 20.58 million ABEL were pre-mined in the genesis block, accounting for 9.14% of the total supply of ABEL, specifically to support the decentralization of the Abelian network and promote a diverse and active Abelian community. It will take a total of 10 epochs, or 32.5 years, to mine all tokens.
After two years of development, by the end of 2023, ABEL will be listed on MEXC and XT, and in the second quarter of 2024, ABEL will be launched on at least three more exchanges.
For more information about Abelian, please visit the official website abelian.info for reading and searching.
