BTQ Technologies Launches Quantum-Resistant Bitcoin Testnet with BIP-360 Implementation

First Working Implementation of BIP-360

BTQ Technologies has released version v0.3.0 of its Bitcoin Quantum testnet. The centerpiece of the update is the first functional implementation of BIP-360 — a P2MR (Pay to Merkle Root) standard designed to shield Bitcoin transactions from the threat posed by quantum computers.

While BIP-360 has already been included in the official Bitcoin Improvement Proposals repository, virtually no work on it is being done within the Bitcoin Core client. BTQ Technologies has moved ahead of the main network, turning a theoretical proposal into running code.

Why This Matters

Quantum computers could eventually undermine Bitcoin's cryptographic security through Shor's algorithm, which can derive private keys from exposed public keys. BIP-360 addresses a specific vulnerability in Taproot that reveals public keys on the blockchain, making them potential targets for quantum attacks in the future.

The new P2MR output type preserves compatibility with Taproot scripts — essential for Lightning Network, BitVM, and Ark — but eliminates the key-path spending option. Instead, the system commits to the Merkle tree root without exposing a private key.

The update also activates Dilithium post-quantum signatures, a cryptographic standard approved by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Testnet Infrastructure and Roadmap

Alongside the protocol upgrade, the development team introduced a fully functional CLI wallet. Users can already create, sign, and broadcast P2MR transactions on the test network.

BTQ Technologies shared the following testnet activity metrics:

• More than 50 miners have joined the network;
• Over 100,000 blocks have been mined;
• Block time has been reduced to 1 minute to accelerate testing cycles.

Company CEO Olivier Roussy Newton stated that the industry cannot afford to wait for a crisis before beginning to test protective measures. Bitcoin Quantum was built as a proving ground to validate quantum defenses before the threat materializes.

BTQ Technologies also disclosed its monetization strategy: launching a mining pool with a 3% fee and accumulating BTQ tokens on the corporate balance sheet.

The Broader Quantum Debate

The testnet launch arrives amid an ongoing debate over the severity of the quantum threat to Bitcoin. In March, Galaxy Digital's head of research Alex Thorn argued that fears about quantum computers breaking Bitcoin's network are significantly overstated.

Still, BTQ Technologies is taking a proactive stance, offering the industry ready-made tools for testing post-quantum protection well before sufficiently powerful quantum machines become available.