Common questions, answered briefly. For longer explanations, follow the links.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.qbtc.net/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
The basics
What is QBTC?
A quantum-resistant blockchain that mirrors Bitcoin’s UTXO set. Every Bitcoin holder has a 1:1 claim of QBTC, exercisable by proving ownership of their Bitcoin address using a zero-knowledge proof. See What is QBTC?.Is QBTC a Bitcoin fork?
No. Bitcoin’s chain is not touched. QBTC is a separate chain with its own genesis block, its own validator set, its own history. See Why a Parallel Chain.Is this a bridge?
No. No BTC is locked anywhere. There is no custodian. Your BTC stays on Bitcoin. QBTC is a parallel ledger that already knows your balance.Is QBTC a wrapped asset?
No. QBTC is a native token on its own chain.Can claiming QBTC cost me any Bitcoin?
No. Nothing about claiming moves, spends, or locks your BTC. The zero-knowledge proof is generated locally from your Bitcoin private key. No Bitcoin transaction is ever sent. Your BTC sits on Bitcoin throughout the process, untouched.Custody
What if my BTC is on an exchange (Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, etc.)?
The exchange controls the private keys, which means the exchange controls the claim. Whether they pass it on to you, sell it, or ignore it is up to them. Historical airdrop precedent is mixed: some exchanges credit users, others do not. If you want certainty about your claim, the safest path is to withdraw to self-custody before mainnet.What if my BTC is on a hardware wallet (Ledger, Trezor)?
You control your keys, so you control your claim. Hardware-wallet integration paths will be published before mainnet through QBTC-compatible wallet partners.What if my BTC is in a paper wallet or seed phrase I have stored offline?
You control your keys. As long as you can access the private key when mainnet ships, you can claim.What if my BTC is in an ETF or other wrapped product (IBIT, GBTC, etc.)?
ETF and similar wrapped products do not pass through to the underlying holder. The custodian holds the BTC and thus holds the claim. Each issuer decides independently how to handle it.What if I lost my BTC private key?
If you can’t sign a proof of ownership, you can’t claim. This is the same security model as Bitcoin itself: keys equal ownership.Claims
Do I need to do anything now?
No, with one caveat. Most holders can claim whenever they want, or never. The exception is dormant exposed-key BTC: UTXOs older than 17 years whose public keys are already on-chain (Satoshi-era P2PK outputs and very old reused addresses). Those are subject to reclamation by QBTC governance. If your BTC is not in that category, your claim is not affected by waiting.How do I claim?
When mainnet is live, you’ll use a quantum-safe wallet to generate a zero-knowledge proof of ownership of your Bitcoin address, then submit it to QBTC. An established multi-chain, seedless self-custody wallet partner is implementing native post-quantum signing (ML-DSA) and QBTC claim-proof generation for rollout at mainnet, and will be named ahead of launch. See For BTC Holders.What if I’ve already moved my BTC?
The QBTC chain continuously mirrors Bitcoin’s UTXO set, not a frozen snapshot. Whoever currently controls a BTC UTXO controls the corresponding QBTC claim. If you sent your BTC to a new address (your own or someone else’s), the new address holds the new claim. The mirror tracks live state, so moves on Bitcoin propagate to QBTC.Can I claim multiple addresses at once?
Yes. A single transaction can claim up to 50 UTXOs from the same Bitcoin address. For different addresses, you submit one transaction per address (each requires its own ZK proof).Does claiming reveal my Bitcoin public key?
No. The ZK proof keeps your public key, private key, and signature entirely hidden. Only the hash of the address and the destination QBTC address are revealed on-chain. The migration itself stays quantum-safe.Will QBTC be tradeable at launch?
At mainnet, the chain ships with IBC enabled, so QBTC can move to other Cosmos chains that choose to support it. Centralized exchange listings depend on third parties.Quantum threat
How real is the quantum threat?
Real enough that the institutions with the most to lose are already moving. NIST standardized post-quantum signatures (FIPS 204 / ML-DSA) and is migrating federal infrastructure. Google shipped ML-DSA-65 in Cloud KMS. The US government set a 2035 transition target (NSM-10). Then in March 2026, a Google Quantum AI paper cut the qubit count needed to break Bitcoin’s curve from ~7 million to under 500 thousand, with runtime in minutes. Google’s own internal target for post-quantum readiness is 2029, reported by Bloomberg and CoinDesk. See The Quantum Threat to Bitcoin for the full picture.Why can’t Bitcoin just upgrade itself?
It can in principle, via a soft fork. But: (1) post-quantum signatures are much larger than ECDSA, (2) every user has to migrate to new addresses, (3) dormant Satoshi-era P2PK coins cannot be defended this way, (4) timelines are years and may not arrive in time. See Why a Parallel Chain.What about a Bitcoin hard fork?
Bitcoin’s social consensus does not accept hard forks that change rules affecting existing holders’ coins. A hard fork to re-allocate dormant Satoshi-era UTXOs would be the most contentious change in Bitcoin’s history. QBTC performs the equivalent migration on a separate chain so Bitcoin’s consensus is never touched.Tokenomics
What’s the total supply?
21 million QBTC, matching Bitcoin’s cap. Fixed for all time. No inflation.Is there a team allocation?
No. No team premine, no investor allocation, no advisor allocation. The entire claimable supply belongs to existing Bitcoin holders. See Fair Launch Principles.Where do validator rewards come from?
From the Reserve Module, a module account on the chain. The Reserve is funded only when governance passes proposals to reclaim dormant exposed-key Bitcoin UTXOs (P2PK outputs and reused-address outputs older than 17 years). Each successful proposal mints QBTC into the Reserve equal to the reclaimed BTC value. Each block, a fraction of the Reserve’s balance is released to validators via standard Cosmosx/distribution. See Tokenomics.
Was there an ICO?
No. No public sale, no presale, no investor rounds. There is no way to buy QBTC from the project at any price.Technical
What’s QBTC built on?
The Cosmos SDK, with consensus on a forked CometBFT that uses ML-DSA (Dilithium / FIPS 204) signatures instead of Ed25519.Does QBTC use ECDSA anywhere?
No. ML-DSA throughout the consensus path. ECDSA is only the thing being claimed against (because Bitcoin uses it), and the ZK proof verifies ECDSA ownership without exposing the public key.Where can I read the code?
github.com/btcq-org.Where can I look up QBTC transactions, blocks, and balances?
The QBTC block explorer is at explorer.qbtc.net. For aggregate stats on Bitcoin’s quantum-vulnerable UTXO surface (per-script-type breakdowns of P2PK, reused P2PKH/P2WPKH, etc.) see the risk indexer at indexer.qbtc.net.Are there audits?
The most security-critical components (the ML-DSA integration, the PLONK verifier, the chain code) will receive multiple independent audits before mainnet. Reports will be linked from the Security Model page when they complete.Status
Is QBTC live?
No. QBTC is pre-mainnet. The protocol is in active development. See Roadmap.When does mainnet ship?
Targeting Q3 2026. Specific date and launch sequencing will be announced as the audit and testnet milestones close. Follow @qbtc_net on X.What’s actually in the code today vs. just specified?
See the Roadmap status table. Short version: the post-quantum consensus, the ZK claim verifier, the Bitcoin block ingestion, the user claim mechanism, the Reserve Module, and Cosmosx/gov are all in code. Governance reclamation of dormant exposed-key BTC is activated via on-chain governance after mainnet.