Cory Fields, a Bitcoin Core developer and researcher at the MIT Digital Currency Initiative, proposes a system of secret collateral to make quantum attacks financially costly. Once computers capable of breaking current cryptography become available, moving 1 BTC from an old address would require locking an additional 1 BTC for 30 days. The legitimate owner could secretly place proof of private-key ownership on a quantum-resistant address, then reveal it to recover the funds and seize the attacker’s collateral if theft is attempted. Lost bitcoins, including some attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto, would not be protected by this mechanism; Fields therefore proposes secret auctions that allow participants to bet on these vulnerable funds and trigger their destruction in the event of an attack. These theoretical solutions would require the adoption of quantum-resistant addresses and changes to Bitcoin’s rules, while also forcing legitimate owners to lock collateral.
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