Overview
- Developers updated BIP-361 in Bitcoin’s official repository to propose a move to quantum-resistant address types that could leave older wallets immobile.
- The plan sets two gates that would follow any activation, with deposits to old addresses blocked after three years and legacy signatures rejected after five.
- A third, research-stage phase describes a rescue that could use zero-knowledge proofs to let owners reclaim coins that become stuck.
- Researchers warn that spending reveals a public key on-chain, which a future quantum computer could use to derive the private key, and a Google study estimates about 6.7 million BTC in vulnerable addresses with some projections pointing to risk this decade.
- The update has drawn pushback over forced migration while developers call it a defensive step, and it remains under review with no activation agreed.