Bitcoin could be about to get a major change. A new proposal suggests some coins might have to be destroyed to protect the network from future quantum computer attacks.
The proposal is called QRAMP, short for Quantum-Resistant Address Migration Protocol. It was put forward by Bitcoin developer Agustin Cruz and has caused quite a stir in the wider Bitcoin community.
Bitcoin’s security is based on ECDSA cryptographic system (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm). That’s strong against regular computers but might be broken by quantum computers in the future.
Quantum computers use a new kind of processing procedure based on the laws of quantum physics. Instead of working with just ones and zeroes like regular computers, they use qubits which can exist in multiple states at once. That means they can do specific complex calculations much faster.
Cruz and other devs worry that one day a powerful quantum machine could crack Bitcoin’s security and allow hackers to steal coins from vulnerable wallets. Cruz said:
“Addresses that have exposed their public keys may now be vulnerable if sufficiently powerful quantum computers emerge.”
Cruz’s QRAMP proposal is a major update—a hard fork—to the Bitcoin network. A hard fork is a big software change that creates new rules for Bitcoin and essentially creates a new blockchain. Older versions of the software would no longer be compatible.
If QRAMP is adopted, all Bitcoin users will get a deadline. Before that deadline they would need to move their bitcoin from old, vulnerable addresses to quantum-resistant ones.
If they don’t do this in time, their coins will become unspendable.
The idea is to force users to secure their funds before quantum computers become a real threat. “It provides rightful owners with a clear, non-negotiable opportunity to secure their funds,” Cruz wrote in an email to Bitcoin Dev mailing list.
But there’s a big catch: any coins that remain in vulnerable wallets after the deadline would be effectively burned. This means the total supply of bitcoin could shrink — possibly by millions of coins.
The intense debate over this idea has really brought out the passion in Bitcoin supporters. Some see it as a smart way to safeguard the digital asset’s future.