Bitcoin's Post-Quantum Game Plan Is Starting to Take Shape
Sep 15, 2026
Bitcoin's core contributors are shaping a post-quantum roadmap around BIP-360, P2MR, and SHRINCS to keep the network secure long before quantum computers become a real threat.
Quantum computers are still years away from breaking real-world encryption, but Bitcoin's core contributors aren't waiting around to find out. According to Watch founder Christine D. Kim, the network's post-quantum roadmap is starting to solidify around two proposals working in tandem.
The first, BIP-360, is currently sitting in Draft status. It would introduce a new address format built to resist attacks from quantum machines, giving users a way to move funds into quantum-safe wallets well before it's actually necessary.
P2MR and SHRINCS
Alongside BIP-360, two technical concepts are getting attention: P2MR and SHRINCS. Together they're meant to give Bitcoin a smoother upgrade path, rather than a rushed scramble if a quantum breakthrough suddenly showed up.
It's a slow-moving process, and nothing here is final. But it's a reminder that even Bitcoin's most "boring" corner of development, protocol security, moves in careful, deliberate steps. For long-term holders, this is exactly the kind of unglamorous work that keeps the network resilient decades down the line.