A Bitcoin proposal adding Pay-to-Merkle-Root (P2MR) has been merged into the BIP repository, which is a first step towards quantum hardening.
BIP 360, a Bitcoin soft fork proposal aimed at enabling quantum-resistant script tree functionality, has been updated and merged into the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) GitHub repository. The update introduces a new Bitcoin output type, Pay-to-Merkle-Root (P2MR).
The team described the merge as a milestone for Bitcoin’s quantum-resistant potential and a concrete first step towards quantum-hardening Bitcoin at the protocol level. The release also noted that a BIP being merged does not imply endorsement or non-endorsement by any entity, and does not imply any future activation.
Bitcoin addresses are currently quantum-insecure while spending, and Taproot addresses, as well as P2PK and reused output types, are particularly vulnerable because they expose public keys. It stated that a sufficiently advanced quantum computer could, in theory, derive private keys from public keys, potentially leading to loss of funds.
Conceptually similar to Taproot, the proposed P2MR output type is described as disabling Taproot’s quantum-vulnerable key-path spend, while retaining compatibility with Tapscript and script trees. The proposal is also designed to lay the groundwork for using post-quantum signatures through follow-up soft forks.
BIP co-author Hunter Beast said: “Ultimately, the introduction of BIP 360 and P2MR is a first step in a larger set of quantum-resistance proposals that will be necessary to quantum-harden Bitcoin.”
Beast added that the team is working on proposals to introduce post-quantum signatures into Bitcoin and to address quantum-vulnerable coins that are unlikely to move.
Isabel Foxen Duke, third co-author of BIP, said: “Given the sensitivity of the subject matter, we aimed to ensure the BIP was written in a manner that was clear and understandable to the general public — not just the Bitcoin developer community.”
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