Fearing an attack by quantum computers, Bitcoin developers have already started coding the hard fork that could alter the currency’s supply. Developer Agustin Cruz is the latest dev to post a draft Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) to the Bitcoin-Dev mailing list.
Entitled “Quantum-Resistant Address Migration Protocol” (QRAMP), the draft BIP includes preliminary code and instructions for destroying unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) — colloquially known as bitcoins (BTC) — on the world’s most valuable blockchain.
His BIP contains code for a hard fork consensus change that would enact a mandatory migration of quantum-vulnerable UTXOs.
For context, Bitcoin’s Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) secures UTXOs. Unfortunately, ECDSA cannot defend against a sufficiently advanced quantum attacker. Although no quantum computer has stolen UTXOs yet, it’s possible that a more advanced machine may be able to steal them at some point in the next few years.
Read more: Google’s quantum computer could break Bitcoin in two ways
Sweep your coins to quantum-resistant wallets, or else!
If QRAMP were to gain consensus and become activated in the dominant version of full node software Bitcoin Core, a countdown would commence. By the deadline, if a user failed to sweep their coins into quantum-resistant wallets, Bitcoin Core would decline any transaction attempting to spend funds from a legacy wallet.
In the notes of the BIP, Cruz argues that it provides “rightful owners with a clear, non-negotiable opportunity to secure their funds.” He called his proposal “realistic” and “necessary.”
Importantly, the BIP would effectively alter the supply of BTC. After its deadline transpires, it would deny transactions from legacy UTXOs. That would be a de facto burn of those coins from BTC’s circulation.
For this reason, QRAMP is highly contentious. Moreover, many people are empathetic about extenuating life circumstances that prevent users from accessing their wallets for many years.
As a draft BIP, it does not yet have a BIP number assignment. Like all proposals for making the Bitcoin network quantum resistant, there’s not yet consensus on the best implementation.
