The Blockspace Pod: How Bitcoin engineers are solving the quantum risk

Is Bitcoin ready for the quantum threat? Join Charlie Spears as he explores technical solutions like BIP 360 and OP_CAT. We dive into the massive trade-offs of quantum-resistant signatures and the logistical nightmare of migrating millions of addresses to keep the network secure.

Jan 24, 2026

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Tackling the technical battle to protect Bitcoin from quantum computers. We explore why quantum-resistant signatures are up to 100x larger than current ones and the impact this has on block space and fees. From lattice-based math to STARK-based compression, Charlie breaks down the leading proposals like BIP 360 and BIP 347. We also calculate the "migration" timeline—how long it would actually take to move every Bitcoin to a safe address before "Q-Day" arrives.

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Notes:

* Quantum signatures can reach 17,000 bytes (500x!)

* Optimized hash signatures are 50x larger.

* Full BTC migration takes 76 to 142 days.

* There are 190 million unspent BTC outputs.

Timestamps:

00:00 Start

05:31 Hash based signatures

08:17 Adoption

12:17 Bitcoin uniquely exposed

14:38 Proposals

17:39 Going forward

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Published thrice weekly, "The Blockspace Pod" interviews the best builders and operators in the Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining landscape. Subscribe to get notifications when we publish interviews on Tuesday, our news show on Friday, and our Writer's Room talk show on Saturday!

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