Coinbase Publishes Article Exploring Bitcoin's Post-Quantum Security Migration Path

On October 13, Coinbase published an article on its official blog sharing technical considerations regarding Bitcoin's transition strategy to address quantum computing threats. The article points out that quantum computers pose a potential threat to Bitcoin's existing cryptographic system, and migration efforts must be planned years in advance. As one of the world's largest cryptocurrency custody institutions, Coinbase holds approximately 5% of the global BTC supply and is currently participating in the Bitcoin Security Alliance while investing in open-source research support.

Core recommendations include: adopting flexible output architectures such as P2MR (BIP-360) or P2TRv2 to support the introduction and replacement of post-quantum signature schemes; implementing 1-of-2 hybrid transition constructs that allow funds to retain both classical and post-quantum signature paths simultaneously; prioritizing stateless signature schemes to mitigate state management risks; and requiring candidate schemes to support multi-party computation (MPC) compatibility to meet institutional-grade custody requirements. Coinbase emphasizes that issues regarding the handling of legacy funds can be discussed in parallel with technical upgrades and should not impede the progress of implementing post-quantum signature support.