Tidecoin is a decentralized peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that replaces Bitcoin's ECDSA with Falcon-512, a post-quantum signature scheme selected by NIST for standardization (Draft FIPS 206). Every transaction is quantum-resistant. It is built on Bitcoin Core v30 with an approximately 21 million TDC supply, CPU-mineable via YespowerTIDE, and has been in continuous operation since December 27, 2020.

TDC is the ticker symbol for Tidecoin, the native cryptocurrency of the Tidecoin network. It is used for peer-to-peer transactions, mining rewards, and transaction fees.

When was Tidecoin launched?

Tidecoin's genesis block was mined on December 27, 2020. The genesis message references the photonic quantum computer Jiuzhang demonstrating quantum supremacy. The project was announced on BitcoinTalk on January 4, 2021.

Is Tidecoin a Bitcoin fork?

Tidecoin is built on Bitcoin Core v30, preserving the UTXO model, scripting system, and 15+ years of peer-reviewed consensus logic. All classical cryptography (ECDSA, Schnorr, Taproot, secp256k1) was completely removed and replaced with post-quantum primitives from NIST's PQC standardization process (FIPS 204 finalized, Draft FIPS 206).

Was there a premine or ICO?

No. Tidecoin had no premine, no ICO, no developer allocation, and no foundation reserves. All coins in circulation were earned through CPU proof-of-work mining from block zero.

What is Tidecoin's maximum supply?

Approximately 21 million TDC — comparable to Bitcoin's supply limit. The emission schedule uses quartering rewards with doubling intervals, converging toward ~21M TDC. Currently approximately 18.8 million TDC are in circulation (~89.5% of max supply).

What makes Tidecoin quantum-resistant?

Tidecoin replaces Bitcoin's ECDSA with FALCON-512, a lattice-based digital signature scheme selected by NIST for post-quantum standardization as FN-DSA (Draft FIPS 206). The underlying hard problem — Short Integer Solution (SIS) over NTRU lattices — has been studied since 1996 and has no known efficient quantum algorithm. Every transaction since genesis uses post-quantum signatures.

Why does cryptocurrency need quantum protection?

Shor's algorithm can break ECDSA in polynomial time on a quantum computer. NIST's draft transition guidance (IR 8547, 2024) targets deprecation of classical cryptography by 2030 and disallowance by 2035. The Federal Reserve warns that blockchain data is uniquely vulnerable to "Harvest Now, Decrypt Later" attacks [FEDS 2025-093]. For Bitcoin, millions of BTC remain in quantum-vulnerable address formats.

When will quantum computers break Bitcoin?

Conservative estimates range from 10-20 years. NIST's mandatory PQ compliance deadline is 2035. However, the "Harvest Now, Decrypt Later" threat means data recorded today is already at risk — an adversary can store blockchain data now and derive private keys once quantum computers are available. Tidecoin eliminates this threat because it has used PQ signatures since 2020.

Is FALCON-512 the same as FN-DSA?

Yes. FALCON (Fast Fourier Lattice-based Compact Signatures over NTRU) is the algorithm; FN-DSA is the NIST standardization name under Draft FIPS 206.

What NIST standards does Tidecoin use?

Tidecoin uses cryptographic primitives from NIST's PQC standardization process: Falcon-512/1024 (Draft FIPS 206, not yet finalized), ML-DSA-44/65/87 (FIPS 204, finalized August 2024), ML-KEM-512 (FIPS 203, finalized August 2024), and SHA-512 (FIPS 180-4). No ECDSA exists anywhere in the protocol.

Does Tidecoin have full-stack quantum security?

Yes. Unlike projects that add PQ at only one layer, Tidecoin secures every cryptographic surface: transaction signatures (Falcon/ML-DSA), P2P transport (ML-KEM-512), script hashing (SHA-512), wallet derivation (PQHD), and proof-of-work (memory-hard YespowerTIDE → scrypt merged mining).

What happens if FALCON-512 is broken?

Tidecoin has four additional signature schemes from NIST's PQC process already implemented: Falcon-1024, ML-DSA-44, ML-DSA-65, and ML-DSA-87. If a vulnerability is found in one construction, alternative schemes can be activated via consensus upgrade without a hard fork.

How does Tidecoin compare to QRL?

Both are post-quantum cryptocurrencies operational since genesis. Key differences: Tidecoin uses FALCON-512 (stateless, 666-byte signatures, NIST Draft FIPS 206); QRL uses XMSS (stateful, ~2,500-byte signatures, RFC 8391). Tidecoin supports 5 schemes from NIST's PQC process with ML-KEM-512 P2P transport; QRL supports XMSS only with no PQ transport. Tidecoin uses Bitcoin Core v30; QRL has an independent codebase.

How does Tidecoin compare to Bitcoin?

Tidecoin is built on Bitcoin Core v30 and shares the UTXO model, scripting system, and 21M supply cap. The key difference: Tidecoin replaced ECDSA entirely with FALCON-512 from genesis, making all transactions quantum-resistant. Bitcoin has no quantum protection and faces years of migration challenges through proposals like BIP-360.

How does FALCON-512 compare to XMSS?

FALCON-512 produces 666-byte stateless signatures — keys can sign unlimited messages. XMSS produces ~2,500-byte stateful signatures with limited key reuse. FALCON is a NIST Draft FIPS 206 standard with the smallest signature size of any lattice-based PQ scheme. XMSS is defined in RFC 8391 but was not selected by NIST's PQC competition.

How does FALCON-512 compare to ML-DSA (Dilithium)?

FALCON-512 signatures are 666 bytes; ML-DSA-44 signatures are 2,420 bytes. FALCON has the smallest combined public key + signature size of any NIST PQC standard, making it ideal for blockchain. ML-DSA's advantage is simpler implementation (no floating-point) and FIPS 204 is already finalized. Tidecoin supports both.

Is Tidecoin better than Algorand for quantum security?

Tidecoin has been quantum-resistant since genesis (December 2020). Algorand added Falcon-1024 state proofs in 2023 but did not make all transactions PQ until November 2025. Tidecoin uses Falcon-512 (smaller signatures), supports 5 PQ schemes from NIST's process, has ML-KEM-512 PQ transport, and a PQHD wallet — none of which Algorand currently offers.

Can I mine Tidecoin with a regular computer?

Yes. Tidecoin uses YespowerTIDE (N=2048, r=8), a memory-hard proof-of-work algorithm designed for CPU mining. No ASICs or GPUs required. You can mine from a desktop, laptop, Android phone, or web browser.

Can I mine Tidecoin on my phone?

Yes. The Tidecoin Android Miner is available on GitHub. You can also mine from any smartphone browser at pool.tidecoin.exchange/workers.

Can I mine Tidecoin in a browser?

Yes. Visit pool.tidecoin.exchange/workers, enter your wallet address, select 4-8 threads, and click Start. Requires Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge with WebAssembly support.

What mining software works with Tidecoin?

cpuminer-opt (open source), sugarmaker (open source), SRB-Miner (proprietary), Tidecoin Android Miner, and browser-based mining at pool.tidecoin.exchange.

What wallets support Tidecoin?

Tidecoin has five wallet options: Web Wallet (tdc.cash), Android App (Google Play), Chrome Extension (Chrome Web Store), Core Desktop Wallet (Linux/macOS/Windows), and an iOS app coming soon.

What is the PQHD wallet?

PQHD (Post-Quantum Hierarchical Deterministic) is Tidecoin's custom wallet system that replaces Bitcoin's BIP-32. It uses hardened-only derivation with SHA-512 KDF, supporting all five NIST post-quantum signature schemes with encrypted multi-seed storage.

What consensus algorithm does Tidecoin use?

Proof-of-work using YespowerTIDE (memory-hard, CPU-friendly). After AuxPoW activation, it will transition to scrypt-based merged mining with Litecoin.

Auxiliary Proof-of-Work (AuxPoW) enables merged mining, where Litecoin miners can simultaneously secure the Tidecoin network at no extra computational cost. This increases Tidecoin's 51% attack resistance by 100-1,000x. All AuxPoW code is implemented and tested, awaiting consensus activation.

Is Tidecoin's source code open?

Yes. Tidecoin is fully open source under the MIT license. Source code: https://github.com/tidecoin/tidecoin

What programming language is Tidecoin written in?

C++ (Bitcoin Core v30 codebase). PQ cryptographic primitives are in C (PQClean implementations). Functional tests are in Python.

Q-DAY ETA—

IBM CONDOR (1121 QUBITS) ONLINE SINCE 2023BITCOIN ECDSA-256 SECURITY FLOOR ≈ 2,330 LOGICAL QUBITSNSA RECOMMENDS TRANSITION COMPLETE BY 2035TIDECOIN OPERATIONAL SINCE BLOCK 1 · DECEMBER 2020NIST FINALIZED FALCON-512 STANDARD · 2024«HARVEST NOW, DECRYPT LATER» ATTACKS ALREADY UNDERWAYIBM CONDOR (1121 QUBITS) ONLINE SINCE 2023BITCOIN ECDSA-256 SECURITY FLOOR ≈ 2,330 LOGICAL QUBITSNSA RECOMMENDS TRANSITION COMPLETE BY 2035TIDECOIN OPERATIONAL SINCE BLOCK 1 · DECEMBER 2020NIST FINALIZED FALCON-512 STANDARD · 2024«HARVEST NOW, DECRYPT LATER» ATTACKS ALREADY UNDERWAY

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Tidecoin FAQ

Everything you need to know about Tidecoin — a post-quantum cryptocurrency using Falcon-512 digital signatures (selected by NIST for standardization as FN-DSA), operational since December 2020.

// general

General questions about Tidecoin

// quantum resistance

Questions about quantum security

// comparisons

How Tidecoin compares to other projects

// mining

Mining questions

// wallets

Wallet questions

// technical

Technical questions

Tidecoin FAQ — Post-Quantum Cryptocurrency Questions & Answers

Tidecoin FAQ

General questions about Tidecoin

What is Tidecoin?

What is TDC?

When was Tidecoin launched?

Is Tidecoin a Bitcoin fork?

Was there a premine or ICO?

What is Tidecoin's maximum supply?

Questions about quantum security

What makes Tidecoin quantum-resistant?

Why does cryptocurrency need quantum protection?

When will quantum computers break Bitcoin?

Is FALCON-512 the same as FN-DSA?

What NIST standards does Tidecoin use?

Does Tidecoin have full-stack quantum security?

What happens if FALCON-512 is broken?

How Tidecoin compares to other projects

How does Tidecoin compare to QRL?

How does Tidecoin compare to Bitcoin?

How does FALCON-512 compare to XMSS?

How does FALCON-512 compare to ML-DSA (Dilithium)?

Is Tidecoin better than Algorand for quantum security?

Mining questions

Can I mine Tidecoin with a regular computer?

Can I mine Tidecoin on my phone?

Can I mine Tidecoin in a browser?

What mining software works with Tidecoin?

Wallet questions

What wallets support Tidecoin?

What is the PQHD wallet?

Technical questions

What is Tidecoin's block time?

What consensus algorithm does Tidecoin use?

What is AuxPoW?

Is Tidecoin's source code open?

What programming language is Tidecoin written in?

Tidecoin FAQ

General questions about Tidecoin

01What is Tidecoin?

What is Tidecoin?

02What is TDC?

What is TDC?

03When was Tidecoin launched?

When was Tidecoin launched?

04Is Tidecoin a Bitcoin fork?

Is Tidecoin a Bitcoin fork?

05Was there a premine or ICO?

Was there a premine or ICO?

06What is Tidecoin's maximum supply?

What is Tidecoin's maximum supply?

Questions about quantum security

01What makes Tidecoin quantum-resistant?

What makes Tidecoin quantum-resistant?

02Why does cryptocurrency need quantum protection?

Why does cryptocurrency need quantum protection?

03When will quantum computers break Bitcoin?

When will quantum computers break Bitcoin?

04Is FALCON-512 the same as FN-DSA?

Is FALCON-512 the same as FN-DSA?

05What NIST standards does Tidecoin use?

What NIST standards does Tidecoin use?

06Does Tidecoin have full-stack quantum security?

Does Tidecoin have full-stack quantum security?

07What happens if FALCON-512 is broken?

What happens if FALCON-512 is broken?

How Tidecoin compares to other projects

01How does Tidecoin compare to QRL?

How does Tidecoin compare to QRL?

02How does Tidecoin compare to Bitcoin?

How does Tidecoin compare to Bitcoin?

03How does FALCON-512 compare to XMSS?

How does FALCON-512 compare to XMSS?

04How does FALCON-512 compare to ML-DSA (Dilithium)?

How does FALCON-512 compare to ML-DSA (Dilithium)?

05Is Tidecoin better than Algorand for quantum security?

Is Tidecoin better than Algorand for quantum security?

Mining questions

01Can I mine Tidecoin with a regular computer?

Can I mine Tidecoin with a regular computer?

02Can I mine Tidecoin on my phone?

Can I mine Tidecoin on my phone?

03Can I mine Tidecoin in a browser?

Can I mine Tidecoin in a browser?

04What mining software works with Tidecoin?

What mining software works with Tidecoin?

Wallet questions

01What wallets support Tidecoin?

What wallets support Tidecoin?

02What is the PQHD wallet?

What is the PQHD wallet?

Technical questions

01What is Tidecoin's block time?

What is Tidecoin's block time?

02What consensus algorithm does Tidecoin use?

What consensus algorithm does Tidecoin use?

03What is AuxPoW?

What is AuxPoW?

04Is Tidecoin's source code open?

Is Tidecoin's source code open?

05What programming language is Tidecoin written in?

What programming language is Tidecoin written in?