Quantum Impact on Bitcoin Security

Lately, there's been a lot of buzz about quantum computing possibly threatening Bitcoin's security. A bunch of folks here believe that when it happens, we’ll see an upgrade to a quantum-resistant algorithm that’ll make things safer.

Totally agree, all holders will definitely need to create new keys that are quantum-safe and move their crypto over. If Satoshi doesn’t upgrade them, those coins could be in serious danger.

Yeah. But what does 'lost' even mean here? Some coins can be reclaimed if they end up at public keys whose private keys are thought to be 'lost'. If an address never spends, those coins stay in limbo.

You're right. But I think when we talk about a quantum transition, we need to focus on the encryption. SHA-256 just won’t cut it anymore. We might need to switch to something like CRYSTALS-Dilithium or FALCON... those are the front-runners for quantum resistance.

Um, just to clarify, Bitcoin doesn’t actually use encryption like you're saying. What you’re talking about is cryptography or ECDSA. Stressed about quantum figuring out hash collisions? Not needed. ECDLP is where the real worry lies.

By the way, what kind of address does Satoshi even have? P2PK or P2PKH? I mean, P2PKH has been around since Bitcoin 0.1.0.

Quick answer. We essentially need to upgrade old addresses (the ones that start with 1 or 3) to Bech32 or Bech32m. That's where we'll see more security.

It really depends on the algorithm we choose, right? Normally, these newer algorithms come with bigger signature sizes or longer verification times. Can’t have it all.

Honestly, SHA256 is the least of our worries with quantum coming. The ASIC miners for SHA256 are probably gonna be faster even after quantum tech advances.

Definitely. But remember, you’re mixing things up. The algorithms you mentioned are for signatures, while SHA256 is just a hash function. They do totally different things.

I think there’s some cool discussions existing here. But what’s the real difference between quantum-proof and quantum-resistant? Can anything really be quantum-proof?

You might wanna check out 2025 plans. AWS, Microsoft, Google, and others are looking to offer pay-per-use access for quantum computing. It’s not just in the West though; China's doing research too, but good luck accessing that.