Bitcoin's quantum fix would permanently lock 1.7 million BTC
Holders of 1.7 million BTC will be unable to recover their funds under the proposed quantum security fix for Bitcoin. The vulnerability stems from the zero-knowledge proof recovery system outlined in BIP 361, which requires HD wallet seed phrases to reclaim frozen funds. This mechanism fails for wallets predating the BIP 32 and BIP 39 standards adopted around 2013. Bitcoin developers Jameson Lopp, Christian Papathanasiou, Ian Smith, Joe Ross, Steve Vaile, and Pierre-Luc Dallaire-Demers authored the proposal to freeze quantum-vulnerable funds and require users to migrate to post-quantum addresses. According to Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, the implementation of this fix requires a hard fork, a maneuver Bitcoin has never executed.
More Briefs
Lower mortgage rates aren’t pulling buyers off the sidelines — here’s what’s really holding back the spring housing market
Apr 18Kraken's Fed Master Account Reduces Dollar Settlement Intermediaries
Apr 18Rhea Finance Lost $7.6M After Attacker Exploited Fake Token Pools to Bypass Validation Checks
Apr 18$150 million recovery plan restores Drift Protocol users’ funds after DeFi disruption