QuantumShield: A Quantum-Secured Blockchain Consensus Framework (QS-BFT) for Next-Generation Consumer Applications

Abstract The rapid advancement of quantum computing poses escalating threats to the cryptographic foundations of blockchain consensus mechanisms deployed in consumer applications. This paper proposes QS-BFT (Quantum-Secured Byzantine Fault Tolerance), a novel quantum-resistant blockchain consensus framework designed to protect consumer-oriented blockchain systems against adversaries operating under an information-theoretically unbounded threat model—that is, adversaries with unlimited classical and quantum computational resources against whom only information-theoretic security (ITS) provides meaningful protection. This is a strictly stronger threat model than the computational security (CS) model assumed by standard post-quantum cryptographic schemes such as lattice-based signatures. QS-BFT integrates Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) networks to address the fundamental vulnerabilities of classical public-key digital signature schemes. By combining QKD with a multilinear hash function family, the framework introduces the MH-USS (Multilinear Hash Unconditionally Secure Signature) scheme, whose signatures are provably unforgeable, non-repudiable, and transferable under ITS, while remaining compatible with deployment on existing consumer devices. To overcome the throughput limitations of classical Byzantine Fault Tolerance approaches such as PBFT, QS-BFT introduces a dual-mode consensus strategy comprising fast mode and standard mode, and permits nodes to vote on empty blocks, thereby eliminating the need for computationally expensive view-change processes. Formal proofs establish the safety and liveness of the protocol under the ITS threat model. Performance evaluations on a local testbed demonstrate that QS-BFT achieves substantially higher throughput and lower latency than PBFT across all tested network configurations. This work advances quantum-resistant blockchain technology by achieving a principled balance between unconditional cryptographic security and practical consensus efficiency.