He is the author of Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 361 (BIP-361), which describes a gradual migration to quantum-resistant cryptography.
“The goal is to create incentives and deadlines for users, exchanges, custodians, wallets and institutions to actually migrate in a timely manner,” said Lopp, who in April said it would be better to freeze Satoshi’s hoard and millions of other dormant bitcoins than let hackers steal them.
Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, rejected both allowing the theft of the coins and freezing them directly.
Instead, he pointed to a proposal from Castle Island Ventures partner Nic Carter that would place Satoshi’s bitcoin in legal trust until ownership could be proven through historical electronic records.
Avoid philosophical challenges
“I actually like Nic Carter’s proposal,” Hougan said via email. “It avoids the philosophical challenges of both CZ’s suggestion and the ‘let what happens’ perspective.”
Hougan said the market already considers Satoshi’s holdings unavailable, meaning almost any change would create more risks than opportunities.
“I don’t think there is any way that the developments around Satoshi coins are positive for the ecosystem,” he said. “The market already considers them frozen forever.”
For now, the debate remains largely theoretical. Researchers are still working on practical post-quantum cryptography for Bitcoin, and no consensus has been reached on how the network should respond if its encryption becomes vulnerable.
