Buried inside a brand new Bitcoin safety proposal is a provision that would save stragglers from shedding all the things.
Anybody who misses the improve deadline however nonetheless holds their seed phrase would have a path to restoration by way of zero-knowledge proof expertise — a last-resort mechanism constructed into the ultimate section of BIP-361, a draft posted to GitHub on Tuesday by cypherpunk Jameson Lopp and 5 co-authors.
The total proposal is a three-phase plan designed to guard Bitcoin from a risk that has quietly grown extra critical: the eventual potential of quantum computer systems to crack the cryptographic keys defending early Bitcoin addresses.
Satoshi’s Fortune At The Heart Of It All
About 1.7 million BTC sits in old-style addresses often called P2PK — the type utilized in Bitcoin’s earliest days. These addresses expose public keys straight, making them susceptible as soon as quantum computing reaches adequate energy.
Satoshi Nakamoto’s stash alone is valued at roughly $74 billion at present costs. In keeping with the proposal’s authors, if a foul actor gained quantum entry to these cash, the harm to Bitcoin’s worth and credibility may very well be extreme.
New 3-step technique targets quantum threat. Supply: Github
BIP-361 builds on BIP-360, launched in February, which launched a brand new quantum-resistant deal with format referred to as pay-to-Merkle-root, or P2MR. That earlier proposal protects new cash. BIP-361 tackles what BIP-360 left unresolved — the roughly 34% of Bitcoin’s whole provide nonetheless sitting in susceptible addresses.
The plan unfolds in phases. Three years after activation, sending BTC to old-style addresses would now not be allowed. Two years after that, old-format signatures could be invalidated totally.
Any cash that haven’t been moved by then could be frozen. The third section — the rescue window — provides late movers a technical path to reclaim funds utilizing proof of seed possession.
BTCUSD buying and selling at $73,722 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView
The Group Response Has Been Blunt
The proposal landed exhausting amongst Bitcoin’s most vocal voices. Bitcoin Journal’s editor rejected it outright. TFTC founder Marty Bent referred to as it “laughable.” Metaplanet’s head of enterprise improvement put the contradiction plainly: “We’ve got to steal folks’s cash to stop their cash from being stolen.”
The authors anticipated the backlash. Primarily based on their very own framing, the freeze isn’t meant as punishment — it’s described as a protection in opposition to a worse consequence. Frozen cash, they argue, barely enhance the worth of everybody else’s holdings. Quantum-stolen cash do the alternative.
This quantum proposal is extremely authoritarian and confiscatory, however in fact, it’s from Lopp. 🚩 🚩
There isn’t a good rationale for forcing the improve and rendering outdated spends invalid. Improve must be 100% voluntary. pic.twitter.com/tQvJVgdPRY
— Cato The Elder (@CatoTheElder17) April 14, 2026
Protocol developer Mark Erhardt shared the proposal on X, the place pushback got here rapidly. Critics referred to as it “extremely authoritarian and confiscatory” and questioned whether or not any deadline may justify making present Bitcoin unspendable by its rightful homeowners. Lopp had not responded to requests for remark on the time of publication.
Whether or not BIP-361 strikes ahead will depend on a consensus course of that has traditionally resisted adjustments this vital. For now, it stays a draft — and a flashpoint.
Featured picture from PostQuantum, chart from TradingView
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