Bitcoin · CoinDesk
Bitcoin experts split over plan to freeze Satoshi's 1.1 million bitcoin as quantum threat scales up
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Binance founder Changpeng Zhao's suggestion that the estimated 1.1 million tokens belonging to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto should be frozen to prevent them from being stolen should quantum computers break the blockchain's cryptography elicited conflicting views among some of the industry's best-known investors, developers and entrepreneurs.
Key facts
- His idea was to give Satoshi six to 12 months to move the bitcoin BTC $ 62,762.34, worth about $68 billion at bitcoin’s current price of roughly $62,000
- He authored Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 361 (BIP-361), which outlines a phased migration to quantum-resistant cryptography
- Michael Terpin, founder and CEO of Transform Ventures and author of Bitcoin Supercycle, said freezing Satoshi's coins would cross a line Bitcoin has never crossed
- Zhao, widely known by his initials CZ, floated the idea during a podcast last month with Galaxy Digital's Alex Thorn
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.