Odaily Planet Daily News Casa CTO and co-founder Jameson Lopp proposed a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal on Tuesday to address the potential threat posed by quantum computers to the Bitcoin network. The proposal, co-authored by six developers, plans to phase out quantum-vulnerable address types in three stages.
According to recent research by Deloitte, about 25% of Bitcoin is currently at risk of quantum computing, including 1 million Bitcoins believed to belong to Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto. Experts worry that with the development of quantum computing technology, the private keys of these ancient wallets may be reversed in the next decade.
The proposal will prohibit sending funds to quantum-vulnerable addresses and freeze the Bitcoins at these addresses for five years, while encouraging users to adopt "post-quantum" Bitcoin address types. The author of the proposal emphasized: "Bitcoin has never faced an existential threat to its cryptographic foundation, and a successful quantum attack will cause significant economic chaos and damage to the entire ecosystem." (Decrypt)