Bitcoin may be approaching its most significant cryptographic upgrade to date should a new proposal gain support.
A draft Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) named Quantum-Resistant Address Migration Protocol (QRAMP) has been put forth by developer Agustin Cruz. The proposal details a strategy to implement a network-wide migration of BTC from traditional wallets to those protected by post-quantum cryptography.
Quantum computing shifts away from binary code processes (ones and zeros) to utilize Quantum bits (qubits) which can exist in multiple states at once. This leap in computational power threatens existing encryption standards used in traditional computing.
The proposal recommends that, following a specified block height, nodes operating the updated software would decline any transactions attempting to utilize coins from an address secured by ECDSA cryptography, which is potentially exposed to quantum computing threats.
The Hard Fork Discussion
Currently, Bitcoin utilizes algorithms such as SHA-256 for mining and the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) for signatures. According to Cruz, legacy addresses that haven’t processed transactions benefit from extra security layers, while those that have revealed their public keys could be at risk “if sufficiently powerful quantum computers emerge.”
A hard fork would be necessary to implement this change, which is likely to be a challenging request for the community. A hard fork refers to a modification of a blockchain that makes older versions incompatible.
“I appreciate the effort, but this still leaves the coins of those who do not migrate exposed, including Satoshi’s coins,” commented one Reddit user regarding the new proposal.
“Bitcoin could enforce post-quantum security for all coins, but that would require a hard fork, which, due to Bitcoin’s history and the mantra repeated by maxis, would result in a new coin that wouldn’t be Bitcoin anymore.”
Read more: The Blocksize Wars Revisited: How Bitcoin’s Civil War Still Resonates Today
A Precautionary Measure
The proposed framework also dictates a migration deadline, which would render funds inaccessible unless transferred to a more secure wallet. This initiative isn’t a reaction to an immediate quantum computing breakthrough; rather, it serves as a preventive step following Microsoft’s recent announcement of Majorana 1, a quantum processing unit capable of scaling to a million qubits per chip.
During the migration period, users would still be able to transfer funds as usual. The BIP urges wallet developers, block explorers, and “other infrastructure” to create tools and notifications to assist users in compliance.
After the closure of the deadline, nodes that haven’t been updated may fork from the network if they carry on accepting traditional transactions.
This isn’t the first instance of a mechanism being suggested to guard Bitcoin against threats posed by quantum computing. Recently, BTQ, a firm aiming to develop blockchain technology resilient to quantum attacks, proposed an alternative to the Proof of Work (PoW) algorithm that incorporates quantum technology.
In their research paper, BTQ introduced a method known as Coarse-Grained Boson Sampling (CGBS), which employs light particles (bosons) to create distinctive patterns that represent the current state of the blockchain instead of relying on hash-based mathematical challenges.
Nevertheless, this proposal would also necessitate a hard fork, requiring miners and nodes to swap their existing ASIC-based hardware for quantum-ready setups.
Read more: Quantum Startup BTQ Proposes More Energy Efficient Alternative to Crypto’s Proof of Work
