Bitcoin's Quantum Defense Plan BIP-361 Draws Criticism Over 1.7M BTC Recovery Gap

Gate News message, April 17 — Bitcoin developers are advancing BIP-361, a contingency plan to counter quantum computing threats by gradually phasing out vulnerable address types and requiring users to migrate funds into quantum-resistant formats. The upgrade could safeguard over 7 million Bitcoin—approximately 34% of total supply—valued at roughly $536 billion by freezing coins that fail to migrate within set deadlines.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has raised significant concerns about the proposal’s scope and execution. He argues that approximately 1.7 million BTC, including roughly 1 million linked to early mining activity, cannot meet the recovery requirements under BIP-361. These coins were generated using earlier cryptographic methods that lack seed phrases, preventing them from producing the proofs required by the proposed recovery mechanism, which would result in their permanent freezing if the upgrade were enacted in its current form.

Hoskinson has further criticized how BIP-361 is presented, contending that its actual impact would align more closely with a hard fork—a type of change historically resisted within Bitcoin’s development culture—rather than the soft fork classification being promoted. The debate underscores ongoing challenges in reaching consensus on how Bitcoin should address emerging technological risks and major protocol changes.