BIP 360 – a proposal aimed to help prepare Bitcoin against future computer threats – has been updated, and merged in the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal GitHub repository. emerging cryptographic and quantum computing risks.
A note obtained by ANALYSIS: The proposal includes a new Bitcoin-output type, Pay-to Merkle Root (P2MR). It was designed to maintain compatibility with the existing Tapscript infrastructure while supporting quantum-resistant functionality. Bitcoin Magazine.
BIP 360 supporters describe BIP 360 as an early step towards quantum-hardening Bitcoin At the protocol level.
Merging BIPs in the BIP repository doesn’t mean that they are endorsed or will be activated. BIPs merge as part of an open discussion or documentation process.
Quantum computing theory puts Bitcoins at risk
Quantum computing is a concern in the fields of cryptography and cyber security because machines that are sufficiently powerful could be capable to crack widely-used cryptographic systems. Bitcoin poses a threat because computers can derive public keys and private keys. They could then steal funds.
Some output types are more vulnerable than others.
The public key of taproot addresses and those that are reused, as well as Pay-to Public-Key (P2PK), are more vulnerable because they are on the chain.
P2MR has a similar concept to Taproot, but it removes one of its weaknesses. Taproot uses a spending method for key paths that could expose public keys. The P2MR output disables this key-path expenditure and commits to only the script path.
Authors of the BIP say that it is intended to be a basis for future upgrades, which could include post-quantum schemes in Bitcoin via soft forks. This note suggests that algorithms such as MLDSA and SLHDSA could be candidates.
“Ultimately, the introduction of BIP 360 and P2MR is a first step in a larger set of quantum-resistance proposals that will be necessary to quantum-harden Bitcoin,” Hunter Beast said that he was a co-author and is also a Bitcoin Developer at MARA.
Beast said that team members are also looking at proposals for vulnerable coins, such as long-dormant coin holdings.
Isabel Foxen Duke is now a coauthor of the latest update, alongside Beast and Ethan Heilman.
Duke, who is a specialist in technical communication, stated that the aim was to explain the proposal beyond the developer community.
“Given the sensitivity of the subject matter, we aimed to ensure the BIP was written in a manner that was clear and understandable to the general public,” Duke said.
As governments and major tech firms arrive at the proposal increase investment In post-quantum Cryptography.
CNSA 2.0, the U.S. National Security Agency’s CNSA framework National Institute of Standards and Technology is planning to phase-out elliptic curvature cryptography by the mid-2030s in all federal systems.
BIP 360 is a security standard that aligns Bitcoin’s network with the broader move towards quantum safe standards. This allows it to be adapted as computer capabilities improve.
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Source: bitcoinmagazine.com
