Bitcoin is finally entering a post-quantum era, following similar plans from Ethereum and Solana.
In the latest Bitcoin improvement proposal (BIP-360), core developers have proposed a soft fork that would reduce the current long-tail risk for Taproot-based Bitcoin wallet addresses.
Source: Github
Officially known as Pay-to-Taproot (P2TR), these addresses are simpler than their predecessors and were introduced in 2021. However, they commit public keys to the chain when you make transactions or spend money, exposing them to risks if capable quantum computers come to market.
In response, the BIP-360 proposal aims to remove the key-to-spend path that exposes public keys and replace it with Pay-to-Merkle-Root (P2MR), which keeps the data private.
Assessing vulnerable Bitcoin addresses
At the end of 2025, Bitcoin analyst Willy Woo said said that Taproot addresses were the most exposed to quantum risks, prompting users to switch to more resilient Bitcoin addresses.
In early 2024, just as the US Spot ETFs debuted, Taproot addresses (P2TR) held nearly 54% of the market share. Given their underlying risk, this was a significant quantum risk to the BTC supply.
Source: Glassnode
However, investors have turned to relatively quantum-resistant alternatives in recent months. It is striking that the number of Taproot addresses has fallen from 54% to 22% at the beginning of 2026.
However, these addresses are only vulnerable to ‘long exposure attacks’. Updating Taproot addresses does not solve “short exposure attacks,” such as obtaining private keys from transaction pools using advanced quantum computers.
The developers added that the P2MR will serve as a stepping stone to a broader quantum-safe network upgrade.
“We believe it is worth considering this path in the future and plan to make a separate proposal for this purpose upon further study.”
Potential impact on the market
The world’s largest cryptocurrency has been under intense FUD for some time now, with users wondering if the core team can deliver such a quantum upgrade on time.
Interestingly, even former Ripple CTO, Joel Katz, warned,
“Bitcoin will need a fork at some point to be quantum resistant. I think this will be at least one instance where technological changes will be necessary or Bitcoin will collapse.”
Even Grayscale recently noted that the quantum FUD could keep BTC ETFs muted. However, if this is resolved, renewed demand could push BTC all the way up new record ever.
A similar view was echoed by Matt Hougan, CEO of digital asset manager Bitwise. He encouraged investors worried about the bear market and that relief could come soon. add That,
“It takes a lot of positive data points to find a bottom, and chances are there’s another leg lower. But at least we’re starting to put some points on the board.”
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Final summary
- Bitcoin is starting to see progress in the post-quantum push with the latest BIP-360 soft-fork proposal aimed at mitigating ‘long exposure attacks’.
- According to Bitwise, this positive update, along with others, could help stabilize the ongoing market sell-off.