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Coinbase's Quantum Advisory Council publishes recommendations for a quantum-resistant Bitcoin upgrade, calling for migration preparations to begin early
According to BlockBeats,October 13，Coinbase the Quantum Advisory Council published a position paper on quantum computing and blockchain, exploring technical paths for Bitcoin to address future quantum-computing threats.Coinbase It stated that migrating Bitcoin to a quantum-resistant system requires not only selecting quantum-resistant digital signature schemes, but also taking into account block-space limits, full-node verification capabilities, institutional custody requirements, ordinary wallet compatibility, and the migration of existing assets.Coinbase It currently custodies approximately 5%of Bitcoin's total supply BTC and is advancing quantum-resistance preparations for its own systems while discussing the matter with Bitcoin developers and researchers and supporting related open-source research through engineering resources and participation in the Bitcoin Security Alliance. The paper is intended to provide a technical reference for community discussion and is not a final proposal or formal conclusion.
On technical approaches,Coinbase recommends beginning preparations before the quantum-computing threat becomes clearly imminent, because adjusting Bitcoin's consensus rules and migrating the broader ecosystem could take years. The company believes consideration should be given to output structures that can flexibly introduce, replace, or supplement different quantum-resistant signature algorithms, and designs such as P2MR（BIP-360）、P2TRv2 should be evaluated as well. Hybrid schemes combining conventional and quantum-resistant signatures could also be studied, enabling users to migrate gradually before a policy for ultimately deprecating conventional signatures is finalized. For signature-algorithm selection,Coinbase recommends comprehensive comparisons of signature and key sizes, verification speeds, side-channel protection, dependence on randomness, compatibility with hardware wallets and multiparty computation (MPC) and security, as well as progress toward standardization, with particular attention to evaluating ML-DSA、SLH-DSA,FN-DSA, and other candidate schemes, including SHRINCS.
Coinbase also specifically cautioned that stateful quantum-resistant signatures may offer advantages such as smaller signature sizes and faster speeds, but improper state management could result in state reuse and consequently create a risk of signature forgery. Therefore, stateless fallback options should be provided, and security-management requirements for wallets and custody services should be clearly defined. In addition, for Bitcoin assets that have not yet migrated, have lost keys, or are inaccessible,Coinbase believes they should be treated as a separate governance and engineering issue. Options including freezing, rate limiting, rescue mechanisms, and the gradual retirement of conventional signatures should be assessed cautiously, ensuring that the measures themselves provide quantum-resistant security.Coinbase emphasized that the migration process involves multiple trade-offs concerning block space, security, privacy, fees, and user access to assets, and that the community should continue discussing how to handle existing assets while advancing work on quantum-resistant signature technology.