University Team Builds First Post-Quantum Security for Lightning Network

Researchers from multiple universities have announced the first working post-quantum defense for the Lightning Network, according to Bitcoin Magazine.

The question of whether quantum computers will ever break Bitcoin remains a topic of debate.

However, second-layer solutions such as Lightning also face potential quantum threats.

Researchers from East Texas A&M University, North American University, Florida Gulf Coast University, and Florida Institute of Technology have been addressing that issue.

JUST IN: East Texas A&M University students announce they've built the first post-quantum security solution for the Bitcoin Lightning Network

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) September 22, 2026

In a Tuesday announcement, the research team said they have created what they describe as the first comprehensive post-quantum security design for the Lightning Network.

The team, whose work was first detailed in a September research paper, stated that they added post-quantum cryptography to Lightning's communications, payment requests, and related systems, implemented in Rust-Lightning.

The solution layers new quantum-resistant cryptography on top of Lightning's existing cryptography without replacing it. It employs ML-DSA digital signatures and ML-KEM key exchange, post-quantum algorithms standardized by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, alongside Lightning's existing classical methods.

With this hybrid approach, an attacker would need to defeat both the new and the old cryptography to compromise a connection or forge a payment request.

Led by Dr. Ahmet Kurt, an assistant professor in East Texas A&M's Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, the team spent roughly three to four months and about 11,000 lines of code on the project. It is a complete working implementation, not just a small demo, according to the team.

The Lightning Network enables fast and low-cost Bitcoin payments through off-chain channels, rather than recording each transaction on the main blockchain.

The team said that its cryptography could eventually be cracked by powerful quantum computers, and this risk persists even if Bitcoin itself is upgraded, because Lightning has its own distinct communication and payment systems.

They added that their work shows Lightning's off-chain systems can start preparing for the quantum era independently, while others concentrate on mainchain solutions.

Quantum researchers have warned that eventually Bitcoin's software — which powers the largest and most robust computer network globally — will require upgrades to handle quantum computing.

Although some crypto venture capital firms have called for action, leading developers argue that many current quantum computers have limited capabilities.

However, they have noted that progress could come unexpectedly — similar to advances in artificial intelligence — and have begun developing solutions, including top Bitcoin infrastructure firm Blockstream.