Component status
Terminology:
- Built — present in the chain code, ships at mainnet.
- Activated via governance — the mechanism is part of QBTC’s tokenomics but is enacted through
x/govproposals after mainnet rather than enforced by automatic chain rules. The validator set sets the activation parameters (UTXO categories, cutoffs, dispute windows) through governance.
Governance reclamation of dormant exposed-key BTC
QBTC entitlements attached to quantum-vulnerable dormant Bitcoin UTXOs (P2PK outputs and reused-address outputs older than 17 years) are reclaimed from the claim mirror and credited to the Reserve Module on a roughly two-week voting cadence. This sustains validator emission and removes value from vulnerable circulation, redistributing it to a quantum-safe address. See Tokenomics for the full design.Open research
- Alternative post-quantum signature schemes as the cryptography landscape evolves.
- Optimizations to the ZK claim circuit (proof size, generation time).
- Cross-chain interactions with other quantum-safe ecosystems.
Out of scope
- A bridge that locks BTC under a custodian or multisig. This would reintroduce custodial risk and would itself be quantum-vulnerable. See Why a Parallel Chain.
- A fork of Bitcoin. Bitcoin’s chain is not touched.
- A change to the 21M supply cap. The cap holds for all time.