A proposal has been put forward to address the potential threat of quantum computers compromising Bitcoin's blockchain. The plan, known as BIP-361, would require holders to migrate their coins to quantum-resistant addresses or risk having them frozen.
The migration process is structured into three phases, with the first phase blocking new transactions to vulnerable addresses after three years and rendering old-style signatures invalid after five years. In essence, this means that holders would technically still own the coins but lose the ability to move them.
The proposal aims to address the potential threat of quantum computers compromising Bitcoin's blockchain, which could allow malicious actors to reverse-engineer private keys and drain funds. The sum of all BTC in vulnerable addresses was approximately 6.7 million as of March, according to a Google study.