Changpeng Zhao proposes "freezing" Satoshi's bitcoins: protection from quantum threat or network revolution?
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has proposed a radical idea: give Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto exactly 12 months to move their coins before an upcoming quantum network upgrade. If the funds remain untouched within that timeframe, they should be frozen permanently.
At first glance, this initiative sounds like science fiction, but it is backed by a very real threat. Zhao warns that if nothing is done, the coins from old, inactive wallets will essentially go to whoever can hack them. Once quantum computing reaches a critical threshold, the traditional encryption methods used in early versions of Bitcoin will come under attack.
Threat to "Ancient" Wallets
This concerns wallets from Bitcoin's early days, which are considered the most vulnerable. They use the Pay-To-Public-Key (P2PK) format, which fully exposes the public key. In modern systems like Avalanche, this format is not used, but it was the standard in Bitcoin's early days. According to Zhao's plan, the one-year window would give owners of inactive coins the opportunity to transfer them to a secure format.
Precedent and Prospects
It is worth noting that a similar idea was previously put forward by Ava Labs CEO Emin Gün Sirer. He emphasized that quantum computing would simplify number factorization, but not all tasks would become easier. In his assessment, a quantum attacker has only a small window of opportunity for an attack, which complicates their work. Nevertheless, Sirer insists: when the threat becomes real, the community should consider freezing Satoshi's coins or setting a deadline for all coins in the P2PK format.
My expert perspective: This proposal is not just a technical discussion but a potential tectonic shift in Bitcoin's philosophy. Freezing the creator's coins undermines the very principle of immutability and decentralization. However, if the quantum threat becomes a reality sooner than expected, this may be the only way to save billions of dollars in "sleeping" assets. The market should closely monitor developments: any such decision will spark fierce debate within the community.