decision: bls12 dependency is old (archived), find alternative

[meling]

The current BLS12 implementation that we depend on is

• https://github.com/kilic/bls12-381

There hasn't been any releases since 2021; we are using v0.1.1-0.20210208205449-6045b0235e36

The repository was archived Dec 27, 2023. There is no suggested alternatives on their GitHub page. ChatGPT suggested these:

🧮 Better-maintained Go implementations of BLS12-381

Your current dependency github.com/kilic/bls12-381 has been archived.
Below are well-maintained alternatives depending on your requirements:

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🔹 supranational/blst

• Language: C/assembly core with Go bindings
• Pros: Extremely fast, widely used (Ethereum 2.0 clients), actively maintained, audited
• Cons: Requires cgo
• Go bindings: github.com/supranational/blst/bindings/go
• Best for: Production use where performance matters (e.g., HotStuff aggregate signatures)

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🔹 ConsenSys/gnark-crypto

• Language: Pure Go
• Pros: Maintained, audited, full algebra support (pairings, G1/G2 ops, hash-to-curve)
• Cons: Slower than blst but avoids cgo
• Best for: Pure-Go builds needing complete BLS12-381 primitives

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🔹 Cloudflare/CIRCL

• Language: Pure Go
• Pros: Clean API, maintained by Cloudflare, implements IETF BLS draft
• Cons: Narrower scope (focused on BLS signatures only, not general pairings)
• Best for: Simpler signature use cases and easy integration

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🔹 herumi/bls

• Language: C++ with Go wrapper
• Pros: Mature, widely used historically (e.g., Chia, earlier BLS users)
• Cons: Requires cgo; older design; previous audit concerns
• Best for: Legacy compatibility when already using Herumi’s MCL

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⚠️ Avoid

• videocoin/go-bls12-381 — outdated, unmaintained fork of Kilic’s code.

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✅ Recommendation for HotStuff

• High performance (aggregate verification): use blst
• Pure Go implementation: use gnark-crypto
• Simple BLS signatures: use CIRCL

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If you tell me which specific BLS features your HotStuff implementation relies on
(e.g., coreVerify, Aggregate, BatchVerify, hash-to-curve mode),
I can show you a 1:1 API migration example for the most suitable library.