Buried inside a brand new Bitcoin safety proposal is a provision that would save stragglers from shedding all the pieces.
Anyone who misses the improve deadline however nonetheless holds their seed phrase would have a path to restoration by means of zero-knowledge proof technology — 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 full 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 Center Of It All
About 1.7 million BTC sits in old-style addresses often called P2PK — the sort utilized in Bitcoin’s earliest days. Those addresses expose public keys immediately, making them weak as soon as quantum computing reaches enough energy.
Satoshi Nakamoto’s stash alone is valued at roughly $74 billion at present costs. According to the proposal’s authors, if a foul actor gained quantum entry to these cash, the harm to Bitcoin’s worth and credibility might be extreme.
New 3-step technique targets quantum threat. Source: Github
BIP-361 builds on BIP-360, launched in February, which launched a brand new quantum-resistant tackle format known 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 total supply nonetheless sitting in weak addresses.
The plan unfolds in levels. 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 Community Response Has Been Blunt
The proposal landed onerous amongst Bitcoin’s most vocal voices. Bitcoin Magazine’s editor rejected it outright. TFTC founder Marty Bent known as it “laughable.” Metaplanet’s head of enterprise growth put the contradiction plainly: “We have to steal people’s money to prevent their money from being stolen.”
The authors anticipated the backlash. Based on their very own framing, the freeze isn’t meant as punishment — it’s described as a protection towards 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 very authoritarian and confiscatory, however after all, it’s from Lopp. 🚩 🚩
There isn’t any good rationale for forcing the improve and rendering previous spends invalid. Upgrade ought to 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 known as it “highly authoritarian and confiscatory” and questioned whether or not any deadline might justify making present Bitcoin unspendable by its rightful homeowners. Lopp had not responded to requests for remark on the time of publication.
Whether BIP-361 strikes ahead is determined by a consensus course of that has traditionally resisted modifications this important. For now, it stays a draft — and a flashpoint.
Featured picture from PublishQuantum, chart from TradingView
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