Bitcoin Developers Propose 'Wait and React' Strategy to Counter Quantum Computing Threats

The Bitcoin community is considering a novel approach to address potential quantum computing threats: instead of preemptively freezing vulnerable coins, the network would wait for an attacker to demonstrate their capabilities and then react. However, this plan relies on the assumption that the attacker will choose to claim a bounty rather than exploiting the vulnerability for financial gain. The proposed 'canary' system involves placing a small amount of bitcoin in a special address that can only be unlocked by a quantum-capable attacker, triggering a network-wide freeze of older wallets if the address is accessed. This approach is designed to provide an alternative to a previously proposed five-year timeline for imposing restrictions on older bitcoin wallets, which has been criticized for being authoritarian and confiscatory. The new proposal also includes a financial incentive, allowing users to contribute to a bounty that would reward the first entity to demonstrate a quantum attack, and introduces a 'safety window' to make stealth attacks more difficult. Nevertheless, the plan's success hinges on the uncertain bet that the first entity capable of breaking Bitcoin's security would opt to claim the bounty rather than executing a potentially massive theft.