AMA with Dmitry Gerasimov, September 18, 2025

Hello everyone, I'm Dmitry Gerasimov. Welcome to our regular AMA session. Let's start with the questions you sent in advance.

You are now finalizing work on a ZK ring post-quantum signature. Previous attempts to create such signatures were unsuccessful because the algorithms were too large. How did you manage to solve this problem?

It's a long story that involved a lot of specific solutions, most of them related to AI. We developed modern AI tools that enable deep, general reasoning. It's really amazing, and we're using them now.

The process is resource-intensive and doesn't happen in a few minutes. I worked on it for about a week — maybe two or three hours per day, with three full days dedicated to this algorithm.

I directed our AI agent, acting as a "human-in-the-loop" to guide the process, and that's how I solved the problem. Another key part of the solution was building on the work of giants; we based our algorithm on the Chipmunk algorithm developed by the Ethereum community. It's a ready-made aggregation signature that solves the issue of large size. My main task was to develop a new, modern aggregation scheme.

I named this aggregation algorithm ACORN, because chipmunks love acorns. The ACORN verification adds some advantages, but it's not the key innovation. The key is Chipmunk itself — it's not large, but that's its most important benefit. However, ACORN verification is very fast, much faster than the Fiat-Shamir protocol.

Initially, I built everything on Fiat-Shamir, but it was too slow and required additional post-quantum protection. Most of the work involved modifying or completely reworking it. At first, I tried to modify it, but then I replaced it with an algorithm written from scratch. That's how I solved it: a combination of AI and the work of other researchers.

Are you already in talks with NIST or other cryptographic standard bodies to validate the new Chipmunk ring signature?

It will be a long process with NIST. Regarding other cryptographic standard bodies, I am in contact with them, especially with Russian-affiliated companies. We have partnerships with some organizations involved in developing new cryptographic standards. However, it's a long road. We will make every effort to promote this algorithm, as that will bring more benefits. First, I need to pass all the review and verification processes for publication in research journals — that's my initial goal.

I need to verify it thoroughly first. I've written many unit tests, but I need formal proofs from other researchers. For example, Qverify has agreed to review it. Only after that will I go to NIST.

Do you plan to implement the Chipmunk ring into the Cellframe blockchain code? If so, where and how will it be used?

It's already implemented. It will be used after the release of version 6.0; it's already in the release branch. Its primary use will be in the consensus mechanism, specifically to enhance the delegation mechanism. All validators will sign the block using it. This will dramatically improve the situation for PoS in post-quantum networks. PoS consensus requires many signatures, but post-quantum signatures are huge, which is a problem. We initially solved it with delegation, but now we can do it much more securely with Chipmunk or the Chipmunk ring. Anonymity isn't the key need here; aggregation is.

Another use case relates to anonymity. I'm particularly interested in anonymous decentralized exchanges (DEX), where anyone can trade without being tracked. This is a current problem with DEXs, as everyone can see what you're trading. For large holders, it's much better to operate without disclosing their actions. There are many other ideas too: anonymous polls, rollups, and various other applications.

Do you have data on how many active wallets are currently connected in local, remote, and ultralight models? Do you expect these numbers to grow after the release of the iOS wallet?

Yes, we have this data but haven't analyzed it yet. We only have data on ultralight wallets because they connect to our RPC service; we don't have interaction data for local and remote wallets. We do expect growth after the iOS release. By the way, the iOS wallet is currently in testing, so it will be available soon.

Now that deposits and withdrawals for CELL (CF-20) are available again on BitMart and BingX, do you plan to expand liquidity pools or launch any market-making programs to strengthen the token's price?

Yes, we are planning to expand and move liquidity pools to CF-20. However, first, we need to extend our API to allow market making to work directly with them. It's all in the plans.

How is the development of the auction functionality progressing? Are there already any candidate projects lined up to participate?

It's in the final stages. It was already done, but I wasn't entirely satisfied with it. I sent it back for rework to extract more universal blocks that can be used not only in the auction but in other projects. We need to separate the auction-specific code from the more general-purpose code. This might take about one more week. After that, we can return to auction testing and start making announcements.

Does the team have plans to collaborate with government enterprises or scientific institutes? Are there any organizations already using Cellframe quantum-safe solutions today?

Yes, we're not just planning — we are already collaborating with institutes. I am a member of the program committee for an Olympiad run by the Novosibirsk State University Cryptography Center. We are in close contact. They helped us with the Chipmunk ring signature review and with access to arxiv.org. I was surprised that I needed an invitation just to submit a preprint for verification!

We also have other collaborations and connections with enterprises and government organizations related to licenses and solution providers. Some of them are already using Cellframe's quantum-safe solutions.

Could you tell us about any new partnerships? Are there plans to cooperate with other blockchain projects or projects specializing in quantum computing?

As I mentioned before, we are cooperating with various organizations. New partnerships are also coming — stay tuned.

The Cellframe team is attending Blockchain Life in Dubai. What are your goals and expectations for participating in this forum?

My goal is to create an event where people can discuss deeper technical topics like post-quantum encryption, AI-assisted coding, and ZK implementation — not just purchasing mining equipment or discussing NFTs. I want to host a technically focused event. I expect to meet new people with deep expertise in different fields, perhaps new developers and maybe some funds. My expectations are high, as usual.

At Blockchain Life, Cellframe is planning its own side event. Could you tell us more about it: what will the format, topics, and participants be like?

As I said, it will be more technology-focused. We'll talk about the technologies themselves, their applications, and their business value. In fact, the business value of new technologies might be the main topic. A major theme will be the intersection of these technologies — where blockchain, AI, post-quantum cryptography, and others come together to create a synergy that produces more than they could individually. More details about the event, including participants, topics, and schedule, will be published later.

Are you leading the effort to attract venture investments for the ecosystem's projects, or is each team handling this independently?

We help make introductions, and then the teams handle it independently. We have connections with some funds, but to be honest, many are still quite passive. You need to prove you're developing something truly interesting. It is possible, however.

You might recall some projects on our platform that we helped attract attention to. Some ecosystem projects secured venture investments directly through their IDO/TGE, which was enough to get started. After that, it's up to the team.

Perhaps this event will change the situation. Recently, at a previous conference, I spoke with some venture funds, and I think we might finalize some deals. We aim to build a platform where venture investors can meet entrepreneurs.

How is the implementation of two-level sharding progressing? The team announced the development of a hard fork mechanism that will be key for this functionality. What else remains to be implemented?

As I said before, the hard fork mechanism is ready, and we are testing and polishing it. What's left is to implement an inter-shard communication protocol and some smaller integration tasks. So, we're really close.

The crypto market as a whole is currently on the rise. Should we expect a similar movement for the CELL token?

You can look at our charts and see how we performed during the previous altcoin season. So, we can hope for that, at least.

When will big KOLs talk about Cellframe again? I miss last year when big names talked about our amazing Cellframe.

Stay tuned, they will start soon, I believe.

How much time does it take to ship a hardware node to Indonesia?

Probably about a week, I'm not entirely sure. I know shipping to Southeast Asia is generally quick. I don't think logistics between the continental and island parts will be a problem.

Any new projects coming to our ecosystem?

Possibly. We have ongoing negotiations.

Did you fix the QEVM bugs?

I think so. Today, I personally built a plugin. It now appears as a proper binary plugin for Cellframe Node. I haven't tested it yet because I just built it about two hours ago. I need to run it through the tests. If it passes, we can launch the mainnet very soon, as it seems almost ready — it runs smart contracts and passes them to consensus. We are very close.

Okay, that's really everything for today. Thank you for your time, your support, and your questions! Goodbye, see you next time! We are CELL! We are here!