BIP proposes destroying bitcoins to save the ecosystem from quantum attack
Fearing an attack by quantum computers, Bitcoin developers have already started coding the hard fork that could alter the currency’s supply. Developer Agustin Cruz is the latest dev to post a draft Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) to the Bitcoin-Dev mailing list. Entitled “Quantum-Resistant Address Migration Protocol” (QRAMP), the draft BIP includes preliminary code and instructions for destroying unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) — colloquially known as bitcoins (BTC) — on the world’s most valuable blockchain. His BIP contains code for a hard fork consensus change that would enact a mandatory migration of quantum-vulnerable UTXOs. For context, Bitcoin’s Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) secures UTXOs. Unfortunately, ECDSA cannot defend against a sufficiently advanced quantum attacker. Although no quantum computer has stolen UTXOs yet, it’s possible that a more advanced machine may be able to steal them at some...