Dilithium5

1. Overview

Dilithium5 is a NIST-standardized (FIPS 204) post-quantum digital signature scheme based on hard lattice problems. As the highest security variant of the CRYSTALS-Dilithium family, it provides 256-bit security against quantum attacks while maintaining practical performance for blockchain use cases.

Key Features

• NIST PQC Winner: Selected as the primary standard for post-quantum signatures (2024).

• Optimal Balance: 256-bit quantum security with faster verification than RSA/ECDSA.

• On-Chain Optimized: Modified for QAN’s hybrid EVM (reduced key sizes via BLAKE3 hashing).

---

2. Technical Specifications

2.1 Algorithm Parameters

Parameter	Dilithium5 Specification
Security Level	256-bit (NIST L5)
Base Problem	Module-LWE + Module-SIS
Signature Size	4,592 bytes (compressed to 2.8 KB in QAN)
Public Key Size	1,312 bytes
Private Key Size	2,560 bytes

2.2 Performance Benchmarks

Operation	QAN Testnet (w/ Hardware Acceleration)
Verification	~12 ms (3x faster than RSA-4096)

Note: Benchmarked on QAN’s quantum-resistant VM with Intel SGX enclaves.

---

3. QAN-Specific Optimizations

Key Size Compression

QAN reduces Dilithium5’s native key sizes by:

• BLAKE3 Hashing: Compresses public keys from 1.3 KB → 0.9 KB.

• Key Reuse: Session-based ephemeral keys for smart contracts.

---

4. Comparative Analysis

4.1 vs. Classical Algorithms

Metric	Dilithium5	ECDSA (secp256k1)
Quantum-Safe?	✅ Yes	❌ No
Sig Verify	12 ms	5 ms
Key Size	1.3 KB	64 B

4.2 vs. Other PQC Algorithms

Algorithm	Security	Sig Size	Verification Speed
Dilithium5	256-bit	2.8 KB	⚡ 12 ms
MLDSA-87	87-bit	2.5 KB	⚡ 10 ms
Falcon-1024	256-bit	1.3 KB	🐢 38 ms

---

5. Use Cases in QAN

• High-Value Transactions: Government, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

• Smart Contract Oracles: Tamper-proof data feeds with quantum-safe auth.

• NFT Royalties: Immutable signature chains for IP ownership.