A new proposal, BIP-361, aims to protect a significant portion of Bitcoin's supply from quantum computing by freezing coins that don't migrate to quantum-resistant addresses. The plan involves phasing out older signature schemes over several years, blocking new inflows to vulnerable addresses, freezing legacy coins, and allowing for recovery of missed migrations.
However, Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, contends the proposal is flawed. He estimates that at least 1.7 million Bitcoin, valued at $127 billion and originating from before 2013, will remain at risk of theft. Hoskinson specifically points to the unrecoverable nature of a substantial portion of these older coins under the current plan.
He highlighted that approximately 1.1 million of these vulnerable coins may belong to Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, potentially worth as much as $82 billion. Despite his criticisms, Hoskinson acknowledged the proposal's intent, stating it's necessary to prevent theft in the coming decade as quantum computers advance.
The looming threat of "Q-Day," when quantum computers could break Bitcoin's cryptography, is gaining attention. Google's recent announcement of transitioning its infrastructure to post-quantum cryptography by 2029 signals the approaching danger.
Hoskinson also criticized the Bitcoin community for its perceived resistance to innovation, suggesting on-chain governance, a feature present in networks like Cardano and Polkadot, could offer a more robust solution.