US EditionBitcoin devs float 'quantum tripwire' that triggers coin freeze only if attack is proven
The plan would reward a public quantum attack and freeze older wallets only after on-chain proof, while critics warn it could still fail in a crisis.
- BitMEX Research proposed a "canary" system this week that triggers network-wide restrictions on older Bitcoin wallets only if a quantum-capable attacker demonstrates the threat on-chain.
- BIP-361, published Tuesday by Jameson Lopp and five developers, would phase out quantum-vulnerable addresses on a fixed five-year timeline, leaving unmigrated coins permanently frozen.
- Critics called the BIP-361 outcome "authoritarian and confiscatory," arguing it undermines Bitcoin's core principle, while BitMEX's "wait and react" strategy bets an attacker would claim a bounty rather than execute theft.
- On Wednesday, Blockstream CEO Adam Back told Paris Blockchain Week attendees that current quantum computers remain "essentially lab experiments," suggesting Bitcoin's governance could handle an emergency without pre-scheduled freezes.
- Google and Caltech researchers said last month that functional quantum computers could arrive sooner than previously estimated, which moved the debate from theoretical to active.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Bitcoin Developers Debate 'Quantum Canary' That Would Freeze Coins Only After an Attack Is Proven
Bitcoin developers are weighing a new counterproposal to the controversial BIP-361 quantum migration plan: rather than scheduling a coin freeze years in advance, let a quantum attacker prove the threat is real before triggering any network restrictions. The proposal, published this week by BitMEX Research, centers on a “canary fund” — a special Bitcoin address generated using a cryptographic construct where the private key is unknown but the add…
Bitcoin devs float 'quantum tripwire' that triggers coin freeze only if attack is proven
BitMEX Research proposes a canary system that pays a bounty to the first quantum attacker and activates a network-wide freeze, offering an alternative to a fixed five-year timeline.
BitMEX's Quantum Canary: Don't Freeze Bitcoin Unless the Threat Is Real
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Should old bitcoin be precautionarily frozen? A new solution will only intervene in case of acute quantum danger. Source: BTC-ECHO BTC-ECHO
New BitMEX proposal challenges BIP-361 with reactive "early warning" system
BitMEX Research has proposed a conditional “canary fund” that would only trigger a network-wide freeze of older Bitcoin wallets if a quantum computer is proven to have successfully stolen funds. BitMEX Research published the alternative strategy on Thursday, arguing that…
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