Bitcoin's BIP 361 proposes a phased migration to quantum-resistant outputs, potentially freezing unmigrated legacy coins. The plan has triggered governance debate, while Tron pushes speed and Ethereum pursues a layered, gradual post-quantum roadmap.

Researcher Giancarlo Lelli used a quantum computer to derive a 15-bit elliptic curve private key, the largest public demo yet. However, a 15-bit key is far from Bitcoin's 256-bit security. Google slashed resource estimates and set 2029 migration target; Bitcoin governance responds with BIPs.

BIP 360 has been updated and merged into the official Bitcoin Improvement Proposal repository, bringing a new proposal into the public discussion around how Bitcoin could prepare for future cryptographic and quantum-computing threats. At the center of the proposal is a new output type called Pay-to-Merkle-Root, or P2MR, which is designed to support quantum-resistant script-tree functionality while remaining compatible with existing Tapscript infrastructure. The proposal does not mean activation or endorsement, but it does mark a meaningful step in framing Bitcoin’s long-term security roadmap. The article explains why quantum computing is considered a theoretical risk to Bitcoin, especially when public keys are exposed on-chain. It highlights that Taproot addresses, Pay-to-Public-Key outputs, and reused addresses may face greater exposure because their public keys are visible. It also details how P2MR differs from Taproot by removing key-path spending and committing only to the script path, thereby reducing the attack surface. In addition, the piece covers the roles of co-authors Hunter Beast, Ethan Heilman, and Isabel Foxen Duke, including the effort to make the proposal more accessible beyond developer circles. It also places BIP 360 in the broader context of post-quantum cryptography, citing the NSA’s CNSA 2.0 framework targeting quantum-safe systems by 2030 and NIST’s plan to phase out elliptic-curve cryptography in federal systems in the mid-2030s.

BIP 360, a proposal to prepare Bitcoin for future quantum computing threats, has been updated and merged into the official BIP GitHub repository. It introduces a new output type called Pay-to-Merkle-Root (P2MR), which supports quantum-resistant script tree functionality while maintaining compatibility with Tapscript. P2MR disables key-path spending, reducing exposure compared to Taproot. The proposal, co-authored by Hunter Beast (senior protocol engineer at MARA), Isabel Foxen Duke, and cryptographer Ethan Heilman, is seen as a foundational step for future soft forks that could introduce post-quantum signature schemes like ML-DSA and SLH-DSA. External pressure from US government frameworks (CNSA 2.0 targets 2030, NIST plans to phase out ECC by mid-2030s) reinforces the urgency. The article explores the technical details, risks, and broader implications of this development.