Self-custody provider Casa has proposed an unprecedented plan to 'gradually phase out' old wallet addresses that may be cracked by quantum computers, and the over one million BTC held by Satoshi Nakamoto may also be affected.
The reason behind this proposal is that more and more experts warn that the computational power of quantum computers will break existing encryption algorithms in the next 10 years, leading to a surge of early BTC entering the market and impacting the global economy.
Quantum threats impact the BTC held by Satoshi Nakamoto, with an unprecedented market impact.
Quantum computers, which have become a hot topic in recent years, can perform calculations using superpositions of 0s and 1s, far surpassing the computational efficiency of traditional computers that rely on binary calculations.
But experts warn that within the next decade, it could be used to reverse-engineer the private keys of BTC wallets. If successful, those early wallets that have not been upgraded could be cracked in an instant, leading to a massive liquidation of 'old BTC' and causing global market turmoil.
According to Deloitte's latest research, approximately 25% of BTC is currently in a quantum-vulnerable state, including the more than one million BTC held by Satoshi Nakamoto.
Casa proposes an improvement plan to address quantum threats.
In response to quantum threats, Casa's CTO Jameson Lopp, along with five other developers, officially proposed a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) on 7/14 to address the potential crisis posed by quantum computers.
Lopp previously stated in an interview that if the Bitcoin community cannot 'reach a consensus,' they will not be able to face the devastating blow of quantum computers.
Three-phase proposal approach
The proposal allows users to upgrade to a more secure 'post-quantum' address type through a phased approach:
Phase One: In the future, transferring money to 'quantum-vulnerable' old addresses will no longer be allowed, encouraging everyone to adopt new, safer addresses.
Phase Two (within five years): All BTC that are 'quantum-vulnerable' will be frozen unless upgraded to secure addresses to be unlocked for use.
Phase Three (optional): A new BIP may be established to assist in recovering the frozen BTC.
The proposal directly addresses users: 'If you do not upgrade, be prepared to lose your assets.'
The proposal discusses the BIP 360 technical discussions, aiming to add 'multiple post-quantum locks' to BTC.
This proposal also mentions a post-quantum encryption scheme 'BIP 360' designed by quantum research engineer Hunter Beast, which introduces a new address type that supports post-quantum encryption, with the following main points:
Integrate three post-quantum signature algorithms.
Establish a new address format based on SegWit v3
Users need to unlock a 'traditional + post-quantum encryption' multi-layer mechanism when spending Bitcoin.
Each new address will be generated using a multi-hash method to avoid public exposure of information.
The purpose of this entire mechanism is:
'Allow users to transfer coins to a safer format in advance, so they won't be caught off guard when quantum computers emerge.'
However, Lopp also reminded that the data volume of quantum signature schemes is quite large, which may reignite community disputes over BTC transaction processing efficiency.
The community's discussion level is quite low, and preparations must be made in advance.
Casa's CTO Loop stated that the BIP will first be published on Bitcoin Core GitHub, and after discussions and modifications, it may finally be implemented, which is a process determined by consensus and usually progresses slowly. According to previous reports, quantum research engineer Hunter Beast has indicated that the Bitcoin community's current level of concern on this issue is far below what it should be. He emphasized:
Even with only a 0.1% chance that quantum computers will threaten Bitcoin (BTC) in the coming years, that's enough reason for us to start preparing now.
This article is authorized for reprint from: (Chain News)
Original title: (Satoshi Nakamoto's million BTC may be threatened by quantum, developers propose three-phase elimination of old Bitcoin wallet addresses)
Original author: Louis Lin
The article 'Satoshi Nakamoto's million bitcoins may be threatened by quantum! Developers propose: 3-phase elimination of old wallets' was first published in 'Crypto City.'
