A new idea circulating among Bitcoin developers is forcing the network to deal with a long-term threat: the effects of quantum computing on its cryptographic foundations.
Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 361 (BIP-361), be explained and a group of researchers including Jameson Lopp, describe a plan to move the network away from incoming signals and toward other ways to deal with the increase. If approved, the proposal would set a deadline that could make the transferable coins unusable forever.
The goal is to reduce Bitcoin’s exposure to future events in which supercomputers are able to break the elliptic curve cryptography that underpins its current system.
“Even if Bitcoin is not the first cryptographically related computer, the knowledge that such a computer exists and can break Bitcoin’s cryptography will destroy trust in the Internet,” the BIP authors wrote.
Today, Bitcoin relies on ECDSA and Schnorr signatures for security. Both remain robust against older computers but are vulnerable to Shor’s algorithm, which can allow an attacker to derive private keys from public keys. This risk is not evenly distributed across the Internet. Old address types, especially those derived from public payment keys and reused addresses, expose public keys and are considered the most vulnerable.
The figures cited by the proposal show that more than a third of all bitcoins in circulation fall into this category, including the previous transactions. Satoshi Nakamoto. In a mass attack, the currency can be compromised, which can disrupt the network and redistribute wealth to the highest-ranking players.
The idea is to change the parameters
BIP-361 introduces a three-step change that makes this possible. Part A, which is expected three years after its opening, will prohibit new returns from sending money to address types of birth. Although users can withdraw money to vulnerable addresses, the restrictions push wallets and services to adopt a non-volatile form of volume.
Part B, starting about two years later, will expand the change by banning all signatures of joint replacements. At that point, any bitcoin that hasn’t been transferred can be effectively frozen, unusable under the internet’s rules.
A prospective C-section, which is still under research, may offer a shorter recovery time. This would rely on anonymous proofs associated with the seed text, allowing users to prove ownership of encrypted funds without revealing private keys. The feasibility and timing of this phase is unknown.
The proposal establishes forced migration as a preventive measure rather than a punitive one. By freezing the money that fails to raise, the authors argue that the network can solve a big problem in the face of quantum energy.
They also note that a currency that cannot be accessed forever will limit its immediate availability, which has long been discussed within the Bitcoin economic model.
No launch date has been set, and BIP-361 is still in draft form.
