Bitcoin Developer Floats Collateral Trap That Could Cost Quantum Thieves Their Own BTC

TLDR Bitcoin Core developer Cory Fields proposed “quantum landmines” on the bitcoin-dev mailing list on November 4. A would-be quantum thief would need to post matching collateral before moving vulnerable coins. Owners could reveal hidden proof of ownership, reclaim their coins and take the thief’s collateral. About 7.1 million BTC, or roughly 35% of supply, sits in wallets with exposed public keys. Fields calls the plan a thought experiment, and the rules needed to enforce it are not written. Cory Fields, a Bitcoin Core developer, posted a new idea to the bitcoin-dev mailing list on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. He calls it “quantum landmines.” The plan would make anyone who tries to steal coins with a quantum computer risk their own money first. Fields works at MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative.

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