The fact that it is using balanced Ternary makes it seem like the science project of young/inexperienced developers. If you're building a cryptocurrency put away your hubris and use what is tried-and-true.
What makes IOTA quantum-secure?
IOTA uses hash-based signatures (https://www.imperialviolet.org/2013/07/18/hashsig.html) instead of elliptic curve cryptography (ECC). Not only is hash-based signatures a lot faster than ECC, but it also greatly simplifies the overall protocol (signing and verification). What actually makes IOTA quantum-secure is the fact that we use Winternitz signatures. IOTA's ternary hash function is called Curl.)[1]
Curl is designed by Genetic Algorithm. I wonder how they could test this? Did they 'do the math'?
[1] https://learn.iota.org/faq/what-makes-iota-quantum-secure
That smells fishy to me. Whether his statement is true or not he cannot be trusted. And the fact that they are using unproven in-house cryptography again supports my view of IOTA as a science project rather that something serious and dependable.
Seemed a bit fishy to me too.
Math project is more likely.
Winternitz... ok
Ternary hash function ... designed by genetic algorith ... WUT?
Why would you design your own hash function?
IOTA does not use traditional asymmetrical (public-key) cryptography algorithms which depend on not being able to efficiently computing discrete logarithms or factoring numbers (which are believed to be easy on a quantum computer).
Instead, its signatures are based on the Winternitz signature scheme (slightly modified for ternary) which only depend on the impossibility of reversing hash functions (Kerl in case of IOTA which is a ternary version of Keccak), which is believed not to be that as easy on a quantum computer as factoring a number (although any reversing of a (hash) function can be done more easily on a quantum computer than a traditional computer).
Disadvantage of Winternitz scheme is that signatures are one-time (every signature reveals parts of your key); therefore users have to be careful not to reuse addresses that have been spent.
Source: https://iota.stackexchange.com/questions/203/how-does-iota-m...
I also found something about 'the length of the computation of the hash function' somewhere as making it more quantum resistant but can no longer find the reference.