The Bitcoin developer proposes gradually invalidating transactions from wallets vulnerable to quantum computing in order to protect the network.
Bitcoin developer Jameson Lopp has presented BIP-361, a proposal co-signed with other developers that explores the gradual elimination of Bitcoin’s current cryptographic signatures and, over time, the invalidation of transactions originating from wallets vulnerable to quantum computing. Tokens that fail to migrate to new standards would effectively be frozen. At current valuations, the approximately 5.6 million dormant BTC cited by Lopp are worth roughly $420 billion.
Lopp clarified that he does not consider the measure necessary at this stage, describing it as a “rough contingency plan” rather than a definitive specification. In a post on X he wrote that he “doesn’t like” the proposal and hopes it will never need to be adopted, adding however: “I wrote it because I like the alternative even less.”
Around 28% of all existing bitcoin — that is, 5.6 million tokens — has not moved in over a decade and is considered likely lost by analysts. If ever recovered through quantum computing, that amount could introduce significant volatility and undermine trust in the network, according to some. Lopp stressed that the greater risk is not even a massive market dump: “If there were any credible evidence that someone has the ability to recover lost or vulnerable coins with a quantum computer, you should expect a massive market panic immediately.”
The debate has already divided the community. Mati Greenspan, founder of Quantum Economics, framed the issue as philosophical rather than technological: “The path toward quantum resistance is relatively clear. The real question is how the Bitcoin community chooses to handle vulnerable coins along the way.” Greenspan acknowledged that freezing dormant bitcoin could eliminate a major systemic risk, but also warned that it “introduces a precedent of intervention that many would consider more dangerous than the threat itself.”
Similar criticism comes from Leo Fan, founder of Cysic and former head of quantum resilience at Algorand, who argues that a freeze would undermine Bitcoin’s core guarantees: “Ownership becomes conditional. Holding the keys no longer guarantees the ability to spend. This weakens Bitcoin’s promise of ‘unstoppable money.'” Any such change would require consensus from the entire network and, as with previous upgrades, overwhelming miner support in order to be activated.
