Bitcoin experts split over plan to freeze Satoshi’s 1.1 million bitcoin as quantum threat grows
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said Satoshi Nakamoto’s bitcoin should be frozen before quantum computers can steal it. Not everyone agrees.
Make preferred on
Share this article
Summary
- Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has suggested freezing Satoshi Nakamoto’s estimated 1.1 million bitcoins if they remain unmoved once quantum computers threaten Bitcoin’s cryptography, a proposal that has divided leading industry figures.
- Critics such as investor Michael Terpin argue that freezing Satoshi’s coins would violate Bitcoin’s core principle of being a permissionless system and doubt the decentralized community could reach consensus on such a change.
- Other experts, including developer Jameson Lopp and Bitwise’s Matt Hougan, say the real issue is preparing Bitcoin for a post-quantum world, with ideas ranging from phased cryptographic upgrades to placing Satoshi’s coins in a legal trust, though all agree the debate is still largely theoretical.
