February 14 News, the Bitcoin community has recently engaged in intense discussions regarding post-quantum security upgrades. With the exposure of the BIP-360 proposal, core developers plan to implement a soft fork to introduce stronger resistance against quantum attacks for Taproot-based addresses. This proposal is seen as an important step for Bitcoin to address future threats posed by quantum computing and has become a focal point of current market attention.
The core goal of BIP-360 is to reduce the risk of exposing public keys in Pay-to-Taproot (P2TR) transactions. The plan will remove the “key-to-spend” path and introduce a Pay-to-Merkle-Root (P2MR) structure, enabling verification without revealing the public key. Since Taproot’s launch in 2021, it has been widely adopted, and related risks were initially overlooked, but they are now recognized as potential systemic vulnerabilities.
Previously, analyst Willy Woo warned that Taproot addresses are most vulnerable to attacks in a quantum environment. Data shows that early 2024, P2TR addresses accounted for nearly 54%, but by early 2026, this had fallen to about 22%, indicating that some holders are actively shifting to more secure address types. However, developers also acknowledge that BIP-360 mainly addresses long-term exposure issues, and additional solutions will be needed to counter short-term attacks that may occur in the transaction pool.
Quantum risk is not only a technical issue but also affects market sentiment. Joel Katz, former CTO of Ripple, stated bluntly that Bitcoin will eventually need a quantum-safe fork, or it will face structural crises. Asset management firms also pointed out that these concerns could suppress institutional investment willingness.
Meanwhile, Matt Hougan, CEO of Bitwise, said that although market uncertainty remains, positive signals are accumulating. As the post-quantum pathway becomes clearer, confidence restoration could provide new support for Bitcoin’s price. For investors, BIP-360 is not just a code upgrade but a crucial step toward Bitcoin’s long-term security and sustainable development.
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