Good morning,
What should Bitcoin developers do about lost coins in a post-quantum future?
It’s a question that continues to divide the community. In today’s issue, I break down the options being discussed and why the most likely outcome is that developers do nothing.
I also explain why doing nothing is not a problem for Bitcoin, at least not right now, as the bigger and more immediate challenge that developers face is figuring out how to protect the roughly 80% of Bitcoin supply that isn’t lost.
Let’s get into it.
Yours truly,
Christine D. Kim
🔔 Programming note: There will be no new BTC Before Light issue next week. The newsletter will be back the following week on March 24.
⏱️Core Release Schedule
(For background on the Bitcoin software development process, refer to the Bitcoin Governance 101 document in the BTC Toolkit.)
First, a quick overview of Bitcoin Core’s software release schedule and the status of the next major release:
Latest Stable Major Release: Bitcoin Core 30.0*
Release Date: October 13, 2025
Latest Stable Minor Release: Bitcoin Core 29.3
Release Date: February 11, 2026
Upcoming Major Release: Bitcoin Core 31.0
Target Release Date: April 10, 2026
Open issues: 8
Closed issues: 106
Milestone progress: 92%
The previous week’s snapshot showed 12 open issues, 88 closed, and a milestone progress of 88%.
*Warning: Bitcoin Core v30.0 contains a wallet migration bug that may result in a loss of funds. A fix for the bug has been included in v30.2.
🖊️ Meeting Log
An overview of the Bitcoin Core developers meeting that took place last Thursday, March 5, 2026, sourced from the Gnusha Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Logs.
Pull Requests (PRs)
Proposed code changes to Bitcoin Core and their respective statuses:
PR #34641 (node, scale default
-dbcachewith system RAM): Ready for review.PR #34692 (Bump dbcache to 1 GiB): Merged.
Issues
Descriptions of bugs and areas for improvement in Bitcoin Core and their respective statuses:
Issue #34735 (Intermittent failure in rpc_gettxspendingprevout.py): Closed
Discussion Topics
Fuzzor Dashboard: “Dergoegge,” a full-time Bitcoin Core developer sponsored by Brink, shared a new tool for testing Bitcoin Core software called the “fuzzor dashboard.” Dergoeege requested feedback on the tool and assistance with creating a similar tool for Bitcoin Core’s new graphical user interface (GUI).
QML GUI Working Group: After a period of inactivity, “johnny9dev” will re-champion efforts to update Bitcoin Core’s graphical user interface (GUI) and provide regular updates on these efforts during the Thursday meetings. Developers discussed how work on rebuilding the Core GUI using the Qt Quick framework will differ this time from previous attempts. Johnny9dev expressed excitement about the renewed momentum for the project, which is also attracting more contributors.
Bitcoin Core v31 Branching: Developers are preparing to branch off the next major release, v31. Branching means creating a separate line of development for a specific version of the software so developers can focus on testing and fixing bugs in that version, while development of new features continues on the master branch. To do this, all outstanding issues in the release must be resolved. A detailed explanation of requirements before the version branch-off can be found here.
☁️ That’s all for my summary of Bitcoin Core development. Continue reading for my insights. To read the rest of the newsletter, make sure you are signed up for a premium subscription:
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🧭 Insights
The debate on what Bitcoiners should do about dormant coins in a post-quantum future continues.
As background, dormant coins refer to bitcoins that have not been moved or interacted with for a long time. Coins that have not moved in over a decade are generally considered “lost,” meaning the rightful owners of these coins have permanently lost access to their funds and can no longer retrieve them.
As of the time of writing, an estimated 17% of the total Bitcoin supply is lost.
In the event of a post-quantum attack on Bitcoin, this is the percentage of the supply that may be vulnerable to theft, as the rightful owners of these coins may not be able to access them and migrate them to a secure alternative spending path.
Bitcoiners have discussed a variety of options to address the issue of lost coins.
