Can SegWit Wallets Shield Bitcoin from Quantum Computing Threats

Bitcoin OG Willy Woo has suggested a way to keep your Bitcoin safe until there’s a solution to the quantum Bitcoin threat — hodling your Bitcoin in a SegWit wallet for around seven years. 

Quantum computing has been a long-feared (and debated) inflection point for the crypto industry. Computers capable of breaking encryption have been theorized to have the capacity to reveal user keys, expose sensitive data and user funds.

In an X post on Tuesday, Woo floated one “intermediary measure,” involving the transfer of one’s Bitcoin to a SegWit-compatible address, and holding the Bitcoin there until a quantum-safe protocol is developed.

SegWit, or Segregated Witness, is a Bitcoin (BTC) protocol upgrade that was implemented on Aug. 23, 2017.

SegWit could help hide keys

Woo argues that quantum computers can discern a private key from a public key, and present-day taproot addresses, “embed the public key into the address,” making them vulnerable to quantum computers, while a SegWit hides the public key until a transaction is logged.

“In the past it was about protecting your PRIVATE KEY (your seed phrase). In the age of big scary quantum computers (BSQC) that are coming, you need to protect your PUBLIC KEY also,” he said.

“Prior formats hide the public key behind a hash, so a BSQC can’t easily crack it.”

However, this would mean that the Bitcoin user will have to refrain from sending any Bitcoin out of the SegWit address until a solution to the quantum threat is developed, explained Woo. 

Woo however also acknowledged that Bitcoin held by exchange-traded funds, treasury companies, and in cold storage could be quantum-resistant if the custodians take action, even before a quantum-resistant protocol is rolled out. 

He also pointed out that the “general consensus” is that quantum probably won’t be a threat to Bitcoin until at least 2030 onward, and “quantum-resistant standards and upgrades are already rolling out.”

SegWit is “no protection model” exec argues

However, Charles Edwards, the founder of quantitative Bitcoin and digital asset fund Carpriole, who has warned about the quantum threat to Bitcoin before, argued the solution “ain’t quantum safe.”

“SegWit is no protection model. We need to upgrade the network ASAP, and these kind of posts suggesting we have 7 years would mean the network collapses first,” he said.

“Bitcoin can adapt, but we need to see a lot more traction on that now and really consensus next year. Bitcoin is the most vulnerable network in the world.”

Related: Quantum threat to Bitcoin still years away, says Borderless Capital partner

Critics say quantum fears are overblown

Meanwhile, critics argue the threat posed by quantum computers is overblown because the technology is still decades away from being viable, and banking giants and other traditional targets will be cracked long before Bitcoin.