[ANN] QBTC | SHA3-512 PoW + ML-DSA-65 signatures | Experimental release

[qbtcproject]

Introducing QBTC — an independent proof-of-work blockchain exploring post-quantum payment signatures.

We are sharing an experimental release and looking for node operators, testers and technical reviewers.

Website, documentation, Windows download and source:
https://qbtcproject.com

CORE DESIGN

• Proof of work: SHA3-512.
• Payment signatures: ML-DSA-65.
• Supply cap: 21 million QBTC.
• Initial block subsidy: 50 QBTC.
• Halving interval: 210,000 blocks.
• Target average block interval: 10 minutes.
• Difficulty adjustment: every 2,016 blocks, limited to a factor of four per adjustment.
• Mining reward maturity: 100 blocks.
• Zero genesis allocation; no reserved team, investor or treasury allocation.
• Peer connectivity through Tor onion services.
• No mandatory mining pool.

The current integer subsidy schedule permits a maximum of 20,999,949.9769 QBTC, slightly below the cap because genesis has no reward and halvings round down to atomic units.

WINDOWS DESKTOP

The application combines an encrypted local wallet, validating node and CPU miner.

It includes Low / Medium / High mining modes, password-free public balance queries, encrypted backups, backup verification and restoration, and locally authorized transaction signing.

CURRENT STATUS

Mining, node synchronization and wallet operations have been exercised during development. The current download is version 1.0.0-rc.1, a frozen launch candidate with its own network identity.

Candidate blocks have already been mined by the initial participants. This announcement is not a simultaneous start from block zero. There is no genesis allocation, but that should not be confused with an even distribution of mining rewards.

The older test-v2 network is separate; its balances are not imported into this candidate.

CONNECTING

A fresh installation currently needs a reachable candidate node address entered in “Optional extra peer.” The bundle does not yet include built-in seed contacts. Once connected, it can learn and remember additional peers.

Please use this thread to coordinate initial contacts and report connectivity problems.

WHAT NEEDS REVIEW

We welcome scrutiny of consensus validation, difficulty adjustment, accumulated-work chain selection, transaction handling, wallet recovery, peer discovery and Windows reliability.

The Windows binaries are unsigned. The project has not undergone an independent security audit. ML-DSA-65 addresses a particular signature threat; it does not make the entire system “quantum-proof.”

There is no promised price, exchange listing or mining profitability. Mining consumes electricity and may produce no reward.

Documentation includes the consensus rules, complete desktop-panel guide, tokenomics, source download and known limitations.

Technical questions, reproducible bug reports and critical review are welcome.

[EL MAOGO]

When is the launch?

[safebase]

No source code = 99.99% chance it’s a virus or Trojan. I advise against downloading it.

[energy_xxx]

https://github.com/qbtcproject/qbtc

The chain height is shown as 0 because there are no communication nodes. How can this problem be solved?

[qbtcproject]

We welcome developers and miners to help test QBTC.

The source code is public:
https://github.com/qbtcproject/qbtc

We would appreciate independent code review, especially of consensus rules, difficulty adjustment, transaction validation, wallet security and peer networking. Bug reports and critical feedback are welcome.

You can also run your own node and mine alongside us. CPU mining is available, with no mandatory pool.

QBTC is experimental and has not undergone an independent security audit. The chain is already running; new participants will join its existing history.

Downloads and documentation:
https://qbtcproject.com

[qbtcproject]

No source code = 99.99% chance it’s a virus or Trojan. I advise against downloading it.

Being cautious about unfamiliar cryptocurrency binaries is reasonable. However, the source code is publicly available:

https://github.com/qbtcproject/qbtc

The repository includes the native blockchain/node/wallet source, desktop panel and networking components, build scripts, dependency information and developer tests.

The website also provides a source download, documentation, internal security-review reports and SHA-256 checksums:
https://qbtcproject.com

We should have made the source link more prominent in the announcement.

To be clear: publishing source code and checksums does not prove that a downloadable executable is safe or that it matches that source. The Windows binaries are unsigned, and the project has not undergone an independent security audit. You can inspect and build the code rather than trust our binaries.

Independent review, criticism and reproducible vulnerability reports are welcome. We are not asking anyone to disable their security software or take our word for it.

[qbtcproject]

When is the launch?

The experimental network is already running. Our nodes have reached block 111 and have been operating stably so far, although this is still a small network and not proof of long-term reliability.

You can download the Windows app, run your own node and mine with your CPU. New participants join the existing chain; this is not a future launch starting from block zero.

Downloads and documentation:
https://qbtcproject.com

Source code:
https://github.com/qbtcproject/qbtc

The software remains experimental and has not undergone an independent security audit.

[clickmaker]

Is this the mainnet launch of this coin or just testnet?

[qbtcproject]

https://github.com/qbtcproject/qbtc

The chain height is shown as 0 because there are no communication nodes. How can this problem be solved?

Thanks for reporting this. You identified a real onboarding problem: the previous download had no initial peer contacts. A fresh node could start locally but had no address through which to discover the existing chain, leaving it at height 0.

We have spent the past couple of days investigating this connection process and running tests. Your report confirms that the first-time setup needed fixing.

Bitcoin also needed to solve initial peer discovery. Its early client used an IRC channel to find other participants. Nodes cannot discover an existing network without some initial contact mechanism. Our omission was shipping the candidate without those contacts.

We have now published an updated download:
https://qbtcproject.com

Close the old app, extract the complete updated ZIP and click Start node. It now automatically tries a bundled .onion contact, retries failed connections and reuses remembered peers. You should not normally need to enter Extra peer manually.

There is currently one bundled contact, so its operator must keep it online. As more participants keep independent nodes running, we can include additional contacts and reduce that dependency. If every known contact is offline, a new node must wait or receive another reachable address.

These contacts help nodes find each other; they do not control consensus. Each node validates blocks locally.

Our existing nodes have reached block 111 and have been stable so far. That does not yet verify this updated connection process from your location. Please try the new download and let us know whether your height advances.

You do not need to delete your existing wallet or chain. Wait for synchronization before mining, and never share wallet files, passwords or private keys.

[qbtcproject]

Is this the mainnet launch of this coin or just testnet?

Yes, this is the QBTC mainnet. We’re at block 115 as I write this, and no reset is planned.

The first halving is at block 210,000—roughly four years at the target average of 10 minutes per block.

Development continues on this chain.