> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.qms.finance/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.qms.finance/introduction.md).

# Introduction

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The QMS Network ("QMS") is a Layer-1 blockchain purpose-built for the post-quantum era. Its consensus layer is quantum-resistant by design, and it is built to accommodate quantum hardware in its miner network. Every building block of this chain is optimized for this future, from block time to consensus mechanism to tokenomics.\
QMS achieves this by using Proof-of-Useful-Work (PoUW) as its consensus mechanism. By replacing the wasteful hashing from standard PoW with computation suited to quantum hardware, QMS becomes a decentralized cloud computing platform that quantum miners can power.\
This is the "useful" in proof-of-useful-work: commercial clients pay to have their optimization problems solved, giving miners a second source of income on top of standard block rewards. This reduces the inflationary cost of securing the chain and triggers a compounding cycle: more rewards attract more miners, which grows the platform's capacity, which attracts more clients.