Changpeng Zhao proposes freezing Satoshi's bitcoins: protection against quantum threat
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has put forward a resonant initiative: giving Satoshi Nakamoto 12 months to move his bitcoins before a potential quantum network upgrade. If the coins are not moved, they would be permanently frozen.
According to Zhao's estimates, if such a scenario is implemented, only about 20 million coins would remain in the new protocol, as the rest would be locked. This concerns the consequences of freezing inactive wallets that could be at risk due to the development of quantum computing.
Protection from the Quantum Threat
Zhao warns that inaction on this issue is extremely dangerous. If nothing is done, the coins will effectively go to whoever cracks them once quantum computing reaches the necessary level. Particularly vulnerable are early Bitcoin wallets using the Pay-To-Public-Key (P2PK) format, which fully exposes the public key.
The idea is to protect these digital assets before they become accessible to attackers. The one-year window, according to Zhao, would give the owner of inactive coins the opportunity to transfer them to a secure format.
A Similar Idea Was Proposed in 2024
A similar proposal was previously voiced by Ava Labs CEO Emin Gün Sirer. He believes that quantum computing could pose a danger to outdated technologies. Wallets from Nakamoto's active period use the P2PK format, which fully exposes the public key, making them particularly vulnerable.
Sirer noted that quantum computing would simplify some operations, such as factoring numbers, but other tasks would remain just as complex. In his assessment, a quantum attacker has only a small window of opportunity for an attack, complicating their work. Modern wallets and systems like Avalanche do not use P2PK, but it was used in the early days of Bitcoin. Therefore, according to Sirer, when quantum computing becomes a real threat, the community should consider freezing Satoshi's coins or setting a deadline and freezing all coins in the P2PK format.
Analyst's Comment: Zhao's initiative raises a fundamental question about the security of legacy assets in the era of quantum computing. Although technically freezing Satoshi's coins is a radical measure, it may become necessary to preserve the integrity of the network. However, community consensus on such a step would be extremely difficult, as it would affect the principles of immutability and decentralization that underpin Bitcoin.