Open standards

Open standards for post-quantum cryptography in blockchain.

The Quantum Alliance develops open standards for post-quantum cryptography in blockchain. It is modelled on the IETF: open participation, individual contribution on merit, and rough consensus over voting, with AI-moderated tooling that keeps the process legible at scale.

Contribute on GitHub See working groups
Starting WGs
4
Founding members
5
Document types
3
First quarterly report
Q3 2026

Charter

Principles

The Alliance is modelled on the IETF. Process is open, contributions are individual, and consensus is assessed rather than counted.

Open participation

There are no dues, no applications, and no prerequisites. Anyone can contribute.

Individuals, not companies

Contributions are judged on merit. Affiliation is disclosed, not weighted.

Rough consensus and working code

No voting. Chairs assess the strength of arguments. Implementations carry more weight than theory.

Evidence always

No overstating quantum readiness. No fear-based marketing.

Technical work

Working Groups

Technical work happens in Working Groups. Each has a charter, defined deliverables, and one or two chairs.

PQC Migration

Standards for transitioning existing chains.

ZK-PQ

Post-quantum zero-knowledge implementations.

Wallet Security

Hardware and software wallet PQC standards.

Interoperability

Cross-chain PQC compatibility.

Chairs

One or two per WG, confirmed by the Steering Committee. Chairs facilitate and assess consensus. They do not decide outcomes, and may not act as the deciding voice on their own submissions.

Discussion tooling

Working Groups run as a structured debate-tree, not a mailing list. Each open question is a node; contributions attach for or against, with evidence. An AI layer dedupes, summarises each branch, surfaces the unresolved crux, and flags convergence. It keeps the record legible but does not decide: chairs assess consensus, members ratify. At Last Call the chair works from the AI's branch summary, with open objections and agreed points laid out and auditable. Converged nodes feed the quarterly report and IETF submissions. The tool and its full record are public; the convening organisation provides it as administration only. Until that tool is public, contribution happens on GitHub.

Rough consensus

A chair declares consensus by issuing a two-week Last Call on the WG channel. If no unresolved objection remains at close, the document advances. The test is that most participants agree and no strong objection stands, not a headcount.

Deadlock

If a WG cannot resolve a substantive objection, either side may escalate to the Steering Committee, which rules on process only, not on technical merits. Appeals must state numbered, specific objections. The Committee may uphold the chair's call, return the item with instructions (a narrower scope is common), or drop it. An item that cannot reach consensus returns to Discussion Paper status and is subject to the standard 6-month expiry. Where a WG has only two active participants, unanimity is required.

New WGs

Used only when a topic fits no existing WG. Require a written charter, three or more participants, and Steering Committee approval.

Maturity

Standards documents

Three maturity levels. All documents are public.

Discussion Paper (DP)

Working proposal. Anyone can submit. Expires in 6 months if not advanced.

Proposed Standard (PS)

Achieved rough consensus in its WG and Steering Committee review. Stable for implementation.

Alliance Standard (AS)

Proven implementation across 2+ independent projects. Highest maturity.

Submitting a Discussion Paper

Anyone may submit a DP, and all submissions are posted publicly on the WG list immediately. Nothing is silently rejected. To be scheduled for discussion on a WG call, a paper must (1) fall within the WG's charter scope and (2) have at least one supporter other than the author. Chairs schedule on those two criteria alone, not on their view of the idea. A paper unsupported after 6 months expires quietly and may be resubmitted. An author may ask the Steering Committee to review any scheduling decision.

Terms

Intellectual property and licensing

Scope

These terms apply only to contributions made into Alliance work items (documents, standards, reports). Joining the Alliance grants no licence over a member's pre-existing, patented, or unrelated IP. A member's portfolio is untouched unless they choose to contribute it into a work item.

Copyright

Contributors retain copyright in their contributions and grant the Alliance a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free licence to publish, modify, and create derivative works from them.

Standards

Final Alliance standards and reports are published under CC BY 4.0: freely accessible to anyone, no paywall, no membership requirement. The licence covers the document text, not the underlying technology.

Implementations

Reference implementations may carry their own licences, provided they remain free and open for free and open derivative works.

Patents

Contributors must disclose any known essential IP (patents or pending applications) that read on a work item they participate in. Claims essential to implementing an Alliance standard must be licensed to implementers of that standard on royalty-free or RAND terms; the commitment covers implementation of the standard only and does not open-license the patent for any other use. Undisclosed essential IP disqualifies the affected contribution from standardisation. Members who prefer to keep a patent fully proprietary simply keep it out of contributed standards.

Rhythm

Cadence

First quarterly report: Q3 2026.

Monthly

Each WG holds an open call.

Quarterly

Full Alliance assembly and a published report covering WG progress, new documents, the threat landscape, and member milestones.

Annually

Alliance Summit, co-located with QDay.

Amplification

Alliance shares member news

When a member makes a post-quantum announcement, the Alliance distributes it. Member milestones are featured in quarterly reports.

Members share Alliance work

Members redistribute Alliance publications, reference Alliance standards in their documentation, and promote WG activity to their communities.

Process

Governance

Steering Committee

Five to seven individuals. Approves new WGs, signs off on document advancement (PS and AS), publishes quarterly reports, and hears appeals. It does not author standards.

Composition

Founding members seed the initial Committee, one individual per founding member, up to the 5-7 cap. Individuals, not companies, hold seats; no organisation holds more than one seat. The Committee is not limited to founding members beyond the initial term.

Elections

From the first term rotation, seats are filled by election every year. Eligible voters and candidates: authors of Alliance work items in the preceding 5 years, individuals with recorded contributions in the current period, current or former WG chairs, and founding members for the first 5 years. Committee structure and eligibility rules are amendable by supermajority (two-thirds) of eligible voters.

Neutrality

The Committee carries no company's branding, name, or logo. The convening organisation provides administration only and holds no vote or veto. No organisation chairs the Committee for two terms running.

Terms

Seats run 12 months, then rotate or renew. If founding members exceed the cap, seats rotate annually so every member cycles through.

Participation

Join any WG channel or attend an assembly. Optionally register name and affiliation.

Conflicts of interest

Participants must disclose any affiliation with, or funding from, an organisation whose mission or goals materially conflict with the Alliance's mission. The test is the organisation's mandate, not its sector: an agency tasked with building interoperable standards is not a conflict; an agency whose mandate includes compromising cryptography is, as is any group dedicated to banning cryptocurrency. Disclosed conflicts do not bar participation in open discussion, but individuals with an active conflict may not hold leadership roles (WG chair or Steering Committee seat) until at least 3 years after the affiliation or funding has ended. The Steering Committee may impose further limitations where needed and hears appeals from any affected individual.

Removal

For sustained violation of Alliance principles or material non-disclosure of a conflict, including conduct discovered after the fact. Decided by the Steering Committee.

Confidentiality

WG discussions, minutes, and records are public by default. A session may reserve time at its end for off-the-record discussion under the Chatham House Rule, declared explicitly on entry. Members may share confidential or unreleased work in these slots or via privately distributed materials. Nothing shared off the record enters a public document without the owner's written consent.

Founders

Founding members

Confirmed founding members. Individuals, not companies, hold Steering Committee seats.

Quantus

Post-quantum L1 (PQC + ZK)

Quip Network

Quantum compute infrastructure

Keystone

Hardware wallet security

QuantumFDN

Quantum technology foundation

Intmax

ZK rollup infrastructure

Contribute.

Anyone may join a Working Group or submit a Discussion Paper. Open an issue or discussion on GitHub. Until the debate-tree is public, that repository is the contribution path.

Open GitHub