StarkWare just pulled off an experiment on Bitcoin’s mainnet: they tested a quantum-resistant BTC transaction—no fork required. According to Cointelegraph, StarkWare is calling this a mainnet experiment.

What happened

StarkWare says they managed to send a Bitcoin transaction on the live network that’s designed to stand up to future quantum attacks. The kicker? They did it without needing a Bitcoin fork, so their approach works within Bitcoin’s current rules.

Experiment limitations

The company noted the transaction cost could hit $200. Plus, to get it mined, they had to send it directly to miners, which isn’t how regular Bitcoin users usually operate.

Why it matters

This shows it’s possible to make quantum-secure BTC spends on mainnet without changing the protocol. But with high costs and the need to work directly with miners, it’s not ready for everyday use yet—this is still very much a research-stage proof of concept.