Dilithion: A Post-Quantum Cryptocurrency

Whitepaper

Version 1.0

October 2025

Launch Date: January 15, 2026

Abstract

Dilithion is a decentralized cryptocurrency designed from the ground up for the post-quantum era. As quantum computers advance toward breaking classical cryptographic systems like ECDSA and RSA, the need for quantum-resistant blockchain technology becomes critical. Dilithion addresses this threat by implementing CRYSTALS-Dilithium, a NIST-standardized post-quantum digital signature scheme, combined with RandomX proof-of-work for ASIC-resistant CPU mining.

This whitepaper presents Dilithion's technical architecture, consensus parameters optimized for large post-quantum signatures, economic model, and roadmap for sustainable decentralized currency in the quantum age.

Key Features:

Important Disclosure

Experimental Nature: Dilithion is an experimental cryptocurrency project. This software has NOT been professionally audited and may contain bugs or vulnerabilities. Use at your own risk.

AI-Assisted Development: This project was developed with AI assistance (Anthropic's Claude Code). While AI tools enable rapid development and comprehensive documentation, all code requires careful human review and community scrutiny. We believe in full transparency about our development methods.

No Guarantees: This project comes with no guarantee of success, security, or value. Users assume all risks. This is not financial advice. Do your own research (DYOR) before participating.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: The Quantum Threat

1.1 The Problem

Modern cryptocurrency security relies on classical cryptography:

Shor's Algorithm (1994) demonstrated that quantum computers can break ECDSA and RSA in polynomial time. While SHA-256 mining receives only a modest speedup (Grover's algorithm), digital signatures are critically vulnerable.

1.2 Timeline to Quantum Threat

Current State (2025):

Expert Estimates:

Conclusion: Cryptocurrencies must transition to post-quantum cryptography now to remain secure over their multi-decade lifespan.

1.3 Existing Cryptocurrency Vulnerability

Cryptocurrency Signature Scheme Quantum Vulnerable? Migration Plan?
Bitcoin ECDSA Yes None announced
Ethereum ECDSA Yes Research phase only
Litecoin ECDSA Yes None announced
Monero EdDSA Yes None announced
Dilithion Dilithium3 No Built-in from genesis

Critical Issue: Retrofitting existing blockchains with post-quantum cryptography requires:

Dilithion's Solution: Start with post-quantum cryptography from genesis block.

2. Post-Quantum Cryptography

2.1 CRYSTALS-Dilithium

Selection Process:

Why Dilithium?

Dilithion uses Dilithium3:

2.2 Comparison to Classical Cryptography

Metric ECDSA (secp256k1) Dilithium3 Ratio
Public key 33 bytes 1,952 bytes 59x larger
Signature 72 bytes 3,309 bytes 46x larger
Security ~128-bit 192-bit (quantum-safe) More secure
Signing time <1 ms 1-2 ms Comparable
Verify time ~1 ms ~1 ms Identical
Quantum safe? No Yes Critical advantage

Trade-off: Dilithion transactions are ~15x larger than Bitcoin transactions, but provide quantum resistance.

2.3 SHA-3 Hashing

Dilithion uses SHA-3 (Keccak) throughout:

Why SHA-3?

3. Technical Architecture

3.1 System Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Dilithion Network                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐    ┌──────────┐          │
│  │  Wallet  │◄──►│   Node   │◄──►│  Miner   │          │
│  └──────────┘    └──────────┘    └──────────┘          │
│       │               │                │               │
│       │         ┌─────┴──────┐        │               │
│       │         │            │         │               │
│  ┌────▼────┐  ┌─▼─────┐  ┌──▼────┐  ┌─▼────────┐      │
│  │Dilithium│  │SHA-3  │  │LevelDB│  │ RandomX  │      │
│  │  Sigs   │  │ Hash  │  │  DB   │  │   PoW    │      │
│  └─────────┘  └───────┘  └───────┘  └──────────┘      │
│                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

3.2 Transaction Structure

class CTransaction {
    int32_t nVersion;               // Transaction version
    std::vector<CTxIn> vin;         // Inputs
    std::vector<CTxOut> vout;       // Outputs
    uint32_t nLockTime;             // Lock time
};

class CTxIn {
    COutPoint prevout;              // Previous output reference
    std::vector<uint8_t> scriptSig; // Dilithium signature (3,309 bytes)
    uint32_t nSequence;             // Sequence number
};

class CTxOut {
    CAmount nValue;                 // Amount in ions (smallest unit)
    std::vector<uint8_t> scriptPubKey; // Dilithium public key (1,952 bytes)
};

Typical Transaction Sizes:

Comparison to Bitcoin:

3.3 Currency Units and Denominations

Base Unit: DIL

Smallest Unit: ions

Denomination Table:

Unit Name Value in ions Value in DIL Description
ion 1 0.00000001 DIL Smallest unit (indivisible)
kiloion 1,000 0.00001 DIL Thousand ions
megaion 1,000,000 0.01 DIL Million ions (1 cent)
DIL 100,000,000 1 DIL Base currency unit

Why "ions"?

Examples:

3.4 Block Structure

class CBlockHeader {
    int32_t nVersion;               // Block version
    uint256 hashPrevBlock;          // Previous block hash (SHA-3)
    uint256 hashMerkleRoot;         // Merkle root of transactions
    uint32_t nTime;                 // Block timestamp
    uint32_t nBits;                 // Difficulty target (compact)
    uint32_t nNonce;                // RandomX nonce
};

class CBlock {
    CBlockHeader header;            // Block header
    std::vector<CTransaction> vtx;  // Transactions
};

Block Properties:

4. Consensus Mechanism

4.1 RandomX Proof-of-Work

Design Goals:

RandomX Characteristics:

Why RandomX?

4.2 Block Time: 4 Minutes

Decision Rationale:

Original proposal: 2 minutes (5x faster than Bitcoin)
Final decision: 4 minutes (2.5x faster than Bitcoin)

Why 4 minutes is optimal:

4.3 Difficulty Adjustment

Algorithm: Similar to Bitcoin's difficulty adjustment

// Adjust difficulty every 2016 blocks
const int64_t DIFFICULTY_ADJUSTMENT_INTERVAL = 2016;
const int64_t BLOCK_TARGET_SPACING = 240; // 4 minutes

// Target timespan: 2016 blocks × 4 minutes = 5.6 days
const int64_t TARGET_TIMESPAN = DIFFICULTY_ADJUSTMENT_INTERVAL * BLOCK_TARGET_SPACING;

// Difficulty adjustment formula:
new_difficulty = old_difficulty * (actual_time / target_time)

// With bounds:
new_difficulty = clamp(new_difficulty, old_difficulty / 4, old_difficulty * 4)

Properties:

4.4 Timestamp Validation

Rules:

Prevents:

5. Economic Model

5.1 Supply Schedule

Total Supply:    21,000,000 DIL (fixed cap)
Initial Reward:  50 DIL per block
Block Time:      4 minutes (240 seconds)
Halving:         Every 210,000 blocks (~1.6 years)

5.2 Emission Schedule

Halving Block Range Reward Duration DIL Mined % of Supply Cumulative %
0 0 - 209,999 50 DIL 1.60 years 10,500,000 50.0% 50.0%
1 210k - 419,999 25 DIL 1.60 years 5,250,000 25.0% 75.0%
2 420k - 629,999 12.5 DIL 1.60 years 2,625,000 12.5% 87.5%
3 630k - 839,999 6.25 DIL 1.60 years 1,312,500 6.25% 93.75%
4+ 840k+ <6.25 DIL ~8 years ~1,312,500 ~6.25% ~100%

Year-by-Year Emission:

5.3 Comparison to Bitcoin

Metric Bitcoin Dilithion Ratio
Total Supply 21M BTC 21M DIL 1:1
Initial Reward 50 BTC 50 DIL 1:1
Block Time 10 min 4 min 2.5x faster
Halving Period 210,000 blocks 210,000 blocks 1:1
First Halving ~4 years ~1.6 years 2.5x faster
99% Mined ~32 years ~12.8 years 2.5x faster
Year 1 Emission 12.5% 31.3% 2.5x faster

Conclusion: Dilithion's emission is exactly 2.5x faster than Bitcoin (matching the block time ratio).

5.4 Transaction Fees

Fee Model:

// Consensus parameters
MIN_TX_FEE = 50,000 ions          // 0.0005 DIL (base fee)
FEE_PER_BYTE = 25 ions            // 25 ions per byte
MIN_RELAY_TX_FEE = 100,000 ions   // 0.001 DIL (relay minimum)

// Fee calculation
fee = MIN_TX_FEE + (transaction_size_bytes × FEE_PER_BYTE)

Typical Transaction Fees:

Transaction Type Size Fee (DIL) Fee (USD at $1/DIL)
1-in, 1-out 3,864 bytes 0.00147 $0.00147
1-in, 2-out 5,816 bytes 0.00195 $0.00195
2-in, 2-out 9,598 bytes 0.00290 $0.00290

Design Goals:

Long-term Fee Market:

5.5 Mining Development Contribution (Mainnet Only)

To ensure sustainable long-term development and maintenance, Dilithion implements a 2% mining development contribution on mainnet. This is NOT a premine—it is an ongoing, transparent allocation from block subsidies.

Structure:

Example Calculation:

Block Subsidy: 50 DIL (100%)
├── Miner Reward:     49 DIL (98%)
├── Dev Fund:         0.5 DIL (1%)
└── Developer Reward: 0.5 DIL (1%)

After First Halving (25 DIL subsidy):
├── Miner Reward:     24.5 DIL (98%)
├── Dev Fund:         0.25 DIL (1%)
└── Developer Reward: 0.25 DIL (1%)

Hardcoded Addresses:

Consensus Enforcement:

All nodes validate that mined blocks include the correct development outputs at the correct amounts. Blocks without valid development outputs are rejected by the network.

Testnet Exception:

The mining development contribution is disabled on testnet to allow the existing testnet chain to continue operating and to simplify testing. Testnet miners receive 100% of block rewards.

Why 2%?

Annual Development Funding (Year 1 estimates):

Blocks per year: ~131,400 (at 4-minute target)
Average subsidy: 50 DIL (before halving)
Dev contribution per block: 1 DIL total
Annual dev funding: ~131,400 DIL

At various DIL prices:
  $0.10/DIL: ~$13,140/year
  $1.00/DIL: ~$131,400/year
  $10.00/DIL: ~$1,314,000/year

5.6 Inflation Rate

Year Supply Start Annual Emission Supply End Inflation Rate
1 0 6,570,000 6,570,000 N/A
2 6,570,000 5,250,000 11,820,000 79.9%
3 11,820,000 3,285,000 15,105,000 27.8%
4 15,105,000 1,965,000 17,070,000 13.0%
5 17,070,000 1,642,500 18,712,500 9.6%
10 ~20,200,000 ~205,000 ~20,405,000 ~1.0%
20 ~20,900,000 ~12,800 ~20,912,800 ~0.06%

Observation: Inflation drops to single digits by Year 5, below 1% by Year 10.

6. Network Security

6.1 Attack Vector Analysis

6.1.1 51% Attack

Definition: Attacker controls >50% of network hash rate

Dilithion Defenses:

Risk Level: LOW to MEDIUM (economically impractical)

6.1.2 Double-Spend Attack

Mitigation:

Risk Level: LOW (same as 51% attack)

6.1.3 Sybil Attack

Definition: Attacker creates many fake network nodes

Dilithion Defenses:

Risk Level: LOW (ineffective attack vector)

6.1.4 Eclipse Attack

Definition: Isolate a node from the honest network

Mitigation:

Risk Level: LOW (standard Bitcoin-style defenses)

6.1.5 Quantum Computer Attack

Definition: Use quantum computer to break cryptography

Dilithion Defense:

Verdict: Dilithion is quantum-safe (primary design goal)

6.2 Wallet Security

Features:

Best Practices:

6.3 Network Monitoring

Planned Infrastructure:

7. Roadmap

7.1 Genesis Launch (January 15, 2026)

Launch Specifications:

Launch Readiness:

7.2 Month 1-2 (Launch Infrastructure)

Priority Features:

7.3 Month 2-3 (Ecosystem Growth)

Key Milestones:

7.4 Month 6+ (Advanced Features)

Long-term Enhancements:

7.5 Year 2+ (Ecosystem Maturity)

Vision:

8. Conclusion

8.1 Why Dilithion Matters

The Quantum Threat is Real:

Dilithion's Solution:

8.2 Technical Excellence

Optimized for Post-Quantum Era:

Comparison to Competition:

Feature Bitcoin Ethereum Other PQC Projects Dilithion
Quantum-safe signatures No No Experimental NIST standard
ASIC-resistant mining No N/A (PoS) Varies RandomX
Optimized for PQC No No Partial Yes (4-min blocks)
Fixed supply Yes No Varies Yes (21M)
Launch readiness Mature Mature Alpha/Beta Production-ready

8.3 Fair Launch Principles

Dilithion adheres to fair launch principles:

Development Funding Transparency:

Unlike projects with large premines or founder allocations, Dilithion has ZERO coins at genesis. The 2% mining development contribution is:

Everyone starts equal on January 15, 2026.

8.4 Long-term Vision

Dilithion aims to be:

Mission Statement:
"Secure digital currency for the quantum age, built by the community, for the community."

8.5 Call to Action

For Miners:

For Developers:

For Users:

For Investors:

Technical Specifications Summary

Parameter Value
Launch Date January 15, 2026, 00:00:00 UTC
Total Supply 21,000,000 DIL
Block Time 4 minutes (240 seconds)
Block Reward 50 DIL (49 DIL to miner, 1 DIL dev contribution on mainnet)
Mining Dev Contribution 2% of subsidy (mainnet only): 1% dev fund + 1% dev reward
Halving Interval Every 210,000 blocks (~1.6 years)
Signature Algorithm CRYSTALS-Dilithium3 (NIST FIPS 204)
Hash Algorithm SHA-3-256 (NIST FIPS 202)
Mining Algorithm RandomX (Monero-derived, ASIC-resistant)
Difficulty Adjustment Every 2,016 blocks (~5.6 days)
Address Format Dilithium3 public key hash (SHA-3)
Transaction Fee 0.0005 DIL base + 25 ions/byte
Confirmations (typical) 3-10 blocks (12-40 minutes)
Genesis Block Hardcoded, January 15, 2026

References

  1. NIST. (2024). FIPS 204: Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Standard. National Institute of Standards and Technology.
  2. Ducas, L., et al. (2018). CRYSTALS-Dilithium: A Lattice-Based Digital Signature Scheme. IACR Transactions on Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems.
  3. Shor, P. (1994). Algorithms for quantum computation: Discrete logarithms and factoring. Proceedings 35th Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science.
  4. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2019). Quantum Computing: Progress and Prospects. The National Academies Press.
  5. Monero Research Lab. (2019). RandomX: CPU-optimized Proof-of-Work. https://github.com/tevador/RandomX
  6. Nakamoto, S. (2008). Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.
  7. Bernstein, D. J., et al. (2015). Post-quantum cryptography. Nature, 549(7671), 188-194.

Appendix A: Glossary

ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit)
Specialized hardware designed for a specific task (e.g., Bitcoin mining). Dilithion uses RandomX to resist ASICs.
CRYSTALS-Dilithium
NIST-standardized post-quantum digital signature scheme based on lattice cryptography.
Halving
Reduction of block reward by 50%, occurs every 210,000 blocks (~1.6 years for Dilithion).
Hash Rate
Measure of mining computational power, typically measured in hashes per second (H/s).
Lattice Cryptography
Post-quantum cryptographic approach based on hard mathematical problems in lattice structures.
Module-LWE
Learning With Errors over Module Lattices, the hard problem underlying Dilithium's security.
Orphan Block
Valid block that's not included in the longest chain, typically due to network propagation delays.
Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC)
Cryptographic algorithms designed to be secure against quantum computer attacks.
RandomX
ASIC-resistant proof-of-work algorithm optimized for general-purpose CPUs.
SHA-3
Secure Hash Algorithm 3, NIST-standardized hash function (Keccak).
Shor's Algorithm
Quantum algorithm that can break RSA and ECDSA in polynomial time.

Appendix B: Contact & Community

Website: https://dilithion.org

GitHub: https://github.com/WillBarton888/dilithion

Discord: Community server - launching soon

Twitter/X: @DilithionCoin

Reddit: r/dilithion

Contact:

Dilithion Whitepaper v1.0
October 2025
"Quantum-Safe. Community-Driven. Fair Launch."

Disclaimer: This whitepaper is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial, or legal advice. Dilithion is EXPERIMENTAL software developed with AI assistance and has NOT been professionally audited. The software may contain bugs, vulnerabilities, or design flaws. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk, including total loss of funds. No guarantees are made regarding security, functionality, future value, adoption, or success. Use this software entirely at your own risk. Users are responsible for securing their own keys and funds. Always do your own research (DYOR) and consult with qualified professionals before participating in any cryptocurrency project.