Bitcoin’s cryptographic security is under serious threat with the rise of quantum computers. Casa CTO Jameson Lopp and five developers have proposed a new defensive shield for the BTC network to counter this threat.
The new Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP), presented in San Francisco, aims to create a post-quantum address security system. Its most notable proposal: freezing the approximately 1 million Bitcoins believed to belong to Satoshi Nakamoto, which have been dormant for years.
Experts say that with the development of quantum computers, methods like Shor’s algorithm could reverse-engineer private keys once sufficient processing power is available. According to Deloitte research, approximately a quarter of Bitcoins are vulnerable to quantum attacks. If this happens within the next 10 years, a massive market crash could occur, including the loss of millions of BTC held by Satoshi Nakamoto.
The BIP proposal presented by Lopp and his team includes a three-phase security plan:
- Blocking new funds from entering addresses vulnerable to quantum.
- Automatic freezing of old coins that have not been moved for five years.
- The ability to selectively unlock these assets with quantum-resistant signatures.
However, Lopp’s proposal isn’t the only solution. Anduro protocol engineer Hunter Beast has previously proposed a post-quantum address design with BIP 360, offering varying levels of security. Such solutions typically strike different balances between technical factors such as algorithm selection, key length, and transaction throughput.
Like every BIP, this proposal must undergo intense debate and technical testing before implementation. Lopp argues that a successful quantum attack could cause massive economic disruption and that the Bitcoin community must unite and act quickly.
However, post-quantum signatures come with much larger file sizes. This can increase transaction data and increase block space consumption. The entire infrastructure, from miners to wallets, needs to be aligned.
*This is not investment advice.