Major BIP 360 Update

In a significant step towards enhancing Bitcoin's security against quantum computing threats, Ethan Heilman, Isabel Foxen Duke, and I have embarked on a comprehensive rewrite of BIP 360. This decision was fueled by the need for clarity and coherence in the proposal, following feedback from the community and the realization that previous versions had undergone substantial technical changes. Our approach diverges from merely making incremental edits to executing a full overhaul, aiming to refine our strategy for mitigating potential quantum-related risks to Bitcoin's infrastructure.

The revised BIP 360 does not incorporate post-quantum signature schemes. Instead, it introduces a novel output type named "Pay-to-Tapscript-Hash (P2TSH)" which omits the key path spend feature, thereby safeguarding against hypothetical vulnerabilities in Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) posed by quantum computing or other cryptanalytic breakthroughs. The choice of this direction underscores our commitment to preemptively addressing emerging threats to ECC, without making premature transitions to post-quantum cryptographic methods.

Furthermore, the updated proposal enriches its technical foundation by including test vectors in both Python and Rust, facilitating a broader engagement with the developer community and ensuring thorough vetting of the proposed changes. We are actively seeking feedback and contributions through the BIP Repo (GitHub) and the dedicated website (BIP360.org), inviting the community to partake in a collective effort towards making Bitcoin quantum-resistant. This initiative reflects our dedication to fostering an open, collaborative process in strengthening Bitcoin’s defenses against the advancing landscape of cryptographic threats.