BTQ Technologies, a quantum computing and cryptography firm, has released the first functional implementation of Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 360 (BIP 360) on its Bitcoin Quantum testnet. The system lets developers, miners, and researchers test quantum-resistant transactions in a live environment with over 50 miners and more than 100,000 blocks mined.
BIP 360 uses a method called Pay-to-Merkle-Root (P2MR), which limits public-key exposure during transactions, reducing the information available to a potential quantum attacker. However, BTQ president Christopher Tam notes the proposal does not secure historical addresses or past transactions.
Experts warn that quantum computers could eventually break the elliptic-curve cryptography securing Bitcoin addresses. A recent ARK Invest report estimates roughly 35% of the Bitcoin supply is potentially vulnerable.
Tam describes adoption as the core obstacle, calling it a social rather than technical problem. Bitcoin Quantum starts from a new genesis block and does not replicate the existing Bitcoin ledger, meaning users must actively choose to migrate.
Originally reported by Decrypt.
