Is Tidecoin a Bitcoin fork?

Tidecoin is built on Bitcoin Core v30. It preserves the UTXO model, scripting system, and peer-to-peer network, but replaces all classical cryptography (ECDSA, Schnorr, Taproot) with post-quantum primitives from NIST's PQC standardization process.

Can I use Bitcoin Core documentation?

Most Bitcoin Core documentation applies. The key difference is that all cryptographic signing uses PQ schemes instead of ECDSA. See Tidecoin-specific docs in the doc/ folder for PQ-specific details.

What license is Tidecoin under?

MIT License, the same as Bitcoin Core.

Build on Tidecoin

Tidecoin is Bitcoin Core v30 with full-stack post-quantum cryptography. Five post-quantum signature schemes from NIST's PQC process (FIPS 204 finalized, Draft FIPS 206), ML-KEM-512 encrypted transport, PQHD wallet, and AuxPoW merged mining infrastructure — all implemented, tested, and open source under the MIT license.

// quick links

GitHub Build Guide RPC Reference Test Suite Contributing

// quick start

How do I build Tidecoin from source?

build.shbash

01$ git clone https://github.com/tidecoin/tidecoin.git

02$ cd tidecoin

03$ cmake -B build

04$ cmake --build build -j$(nproc)

05$

prerequisites

— GCC ≥ 11.1 or Clang ≥ 16.0
— CMake ≥ 3.22
— Python 3
— pkgconf / pkg-config

supported platforms

— Linux Kernel 3.17+
— macOS 13+
— Windows 10+
— FreeBSD · OpenBSD · NetBSD

optional

SQLite (wallet) · Qt6 + qrencode (GUI) · ZeroMQ (notifications) · Cap'n Proto (IPC)

// running

How do I run Tidecoin?

run.shbash

01# Start the daemon

02$ ./build/src/tidecoind

04# Start with GUI

05$ ./build/src/qt/tidecoin-qt

07# CLI interface

08$ ./build/src/tidecoin-cli getblockchaininfo

09$

binaries

tidecoindFull node daemon
tidecoin-qtGUI wallet (Qt 6)
tidecoin-cliRPC client
tidecoin-walletWallet utility
tidecoin-txTransaction utility
tidecoin-utilGeneral utility

// source architecture

How is the Tidecoin source code organized?

src/pq/falcon-512/Falcon-512 implementation13 files, PQClean constant-time

src/pq/falcon-1024/Falcon-1024 implementation13 files

src/pq/ml-dsa-{44,65,87}/ML-DSA implementations18 files each, FIPS 204

src/pq/ml-kem-512/ML-KEM-512 key encapsulation20 files, FIPS 203

src/pq/pq_scheme.hScheme registry5 schemes, prefix 0x07 — 0x0B

src/pq/pqhd_kdf.cppPQHD key derivationSHA-512 KDF, hardened-only

src/pq/pqhd_keygen.cppPQ keypair generationDeterministic from seed material

src/pq/kem.cppML-KEM C++ wrapperKeypair, encaps, decaps

src/crypto/yespower/YespowerTIDE PoWN=2048, r=8

src/auxpow.h/.cppAuxPoW merged miningChain ID 8, scrypt validation

src/wallet/pqhd.hPQHD wallet structuresSeed, encrypted seed, policy

src/kernel/chainparams.cppChain parametersGenesis, activation heights, HRPs

src/script/interpreter.cppScript engineOP_SHA512, witness v1, PQ strict

// rpc commands

What RPC commands are unique to Tidecoin?

// auxpow rpc (built, activates with auxpow)

tidecoin-cli.auxpowrpc

01$ tidecoin-cli createauxblock <address>

02# Create AuxPoW candidate block

04$ tidecoin-cli submitauxblock <hash> <auxpow>

05# Submit solved AuxPoW

07$ tidecoin-cli getauxblock

08# Wallet-assisted create / submit flow

// pqhd wallet rpc (live)

tidecoin-cli.pqhdrpc

01$ tidecoin-cli setpqhdpolicy <recv> <change>

02# Set default PQ scheme for new addresses

04$ tidecoin-cli listpqhdseeds

05# List PQHD seeds tracked by wallet

07$ tidecoin-cli importpqhdseed <seed_hex>

08# Import a 32-byte master seed

10$ tidecoin-cli setpqhdseed <recv> [change]

11# Select default seed IDs

13$ tidecoin-cli removepqhdseed <id>

14# Remove non-default seed

Accepted scheme names: falcon-512, falcon1024, mldsa44, mldsa65, mldsa87 (or numeric prefix byte).

// testing

How do I run Tidecoin tests?

run-tests.shbash

01# Unit tests

02$ ctest --test-dir build

04# Functional tests

05$ build/test/functional/test_runner.py

06$

pq-specific tests

— pqhd_kdf_tests — PQHD KDF derivation with test vectors
— pqhd_keygen_tests — PQ keypair generation
— pq_pubkey_container_tests — PQ pubkey serialization
— pq_multisig_tests — Multi-signature with PQ schemes
— bip324_pq_tests — ML-KEM V2 transport cipher
— auxpow_tests — AuxPoW block validation
— auxpow_mining.py — AuxPoW mining integration
— wallet_pqhd_seed_lifecycle.py — PQHD seed management
— wallet_pqhd_policy.py — PQHD scheme policy
— feature_pq_script_assets.py — PQ script validation

test datasrc/test/data/script_tests_pq.json · tx_valid_pq.json · tx_invalid_pq.json

// contributing

How can I contribute to Tidecoin?

style rules

— 4-space indentation, snake_case functions, CamelCase classes
— PQ crypto in src/pq/ follows PQClean conventions
— All new features must have unit and functional tests
— Do not introduce floating-point arithmetic in crypto code
— Do not add ECDSA / secp256k1 / Schnorr / Taproot code

links

CONTRIBUTING.md CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md GitHub Issues

security.mddisclosure

01# security disclosure

03Do not open a public issue for vulnerabilities. Use GitHub's private vulnerability reporting or email falcon1024@protonmail.com (Proton Mail provides post-quantum encrypted email).

05$ mailto: falcon1024@protonmail.com

07# Response: acknowledgement within 48 hours, assessment within 7 days.

// dev faq

Developer FAQ

All FAQ