PANews reported on April 16th that, according to CoinDesk, the debate over Bitcoin's quantum security has reached a breaking point. Blockstream CEO Adam Back stated at Paris Blockchain Week that Bitcoin should begin building optional post-quantum upgrades now, even though quantum computers are currently still in the "laboratory experiment" stage. He pointed out that the 2021 Taproot upgrade design is flexible enough to accept new signature methods without affecting existing users. Back believes that if threats escalate, developers can quickly coordinate responses, and vulnerabilities can be identified and fixed within hours.

This stance contrasts with the BIP-361 proposal put forward by Jameson Lopp et al., which proposes phasing out quantum-fragile addresses over five years and freezing unmoved coins, including approximately 1 million Bitcoins held by Satoshi Nakamoto and approximately 5.6 million long-unmoved Bitcoins. Researchers from Google and Caltech stated last month that a functional quantum computer capable of breaking Bitcoin cryptography may arrive sooner than previously expected, shifting this debate from theory to practice.