Bitcoin quantum debate has shifted from cryptography toward governance as developers assess BIP-361, a draft plan for moving the network away from signatures vulnerable to future quantum computers.
The proposal raises a central question over whether Bitcoin can coordinate a major upgrade before an emergency forces action.
Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson renewed attention on the issue during a Friday appearance on The Starting Block. He argued that Bitcoin’s main weakness may be its ability to organize a response rather than the technology itself.
“The issue with Bitcoin is it’s frozen in time. It’s very difficult to change anything,” Hoskinson said, according to The Block. He contrasted Bitcoin with Cardano, adding, “If there needs to be a migration, we can have a vote, and then there could be an onchain function to do that.”
BIP-361 Sets a Staged Migration
BIP-361, named Post Quantum Migration and Legacy Signature Sunset, was drafted by Casa founding member Jameson Lopp and five co-authors. It outlines a transition from Bitcoin’s current ECDSA and Schnorr signature systems.
The proposal states that more than 34% of all Bitcoin had exposed a public key on-chain by March 1, 2026. Those coins could theoretically face theft if sufficiently powerful quantum computers become available.
Under the draft, Stage A would begin about three years after activation and block transfers to vulnerable legacy addresses. Stage B would follow two years later and prevent unmigrated coins from being spent. Owners would still control the coins, but they would become unusable.
Legacy Coin Freeze Draws Criticism
The proposed spending freeze has generated the strongest opposition. Critics on developer forums and X described the plan as “authoritarian and confiscatory” and “predatory,” according to reports cited by Yahoo Finance.
Lopp has stressed that the document is not final. “It isn’t a spec, nor is it proposed for activation. It’s a rough idea for a contingency plan that needs more R&D,” he stated in April, emphasizing the need for further research.
Recovery Tools Remain Limited
Project Eleven and Binius researcher Jim Posen have developed a zero-knowledge proof prototype that could help owners of BIP-32 seed-based wallets recover frozen funds. The method does not cover older pay-to-pub-key outputs, including roughly 1.1 million BTC believed to belong to Satoshi Nakamoto.
Paradigm General Partner Dan Robinson has also proposed Provable Address-Control Timestamps, or PACTs. The approach would allow holders to privately timestamp wallet ownership before practical quantum computers emerge. Recovery could later use quantum-resistant STARK proofs, but the system would require additional protocol changes and broad consensus.
BIP-360 and its Pay-to-Merkle-Root output type have already been merged while broader implementation work continues.
BIP-361 remains a draft, and its timelines, migration rules, and treatment of legacy coins may change.
