Bitcoin Developer Jameson Lopp Advocates for Freezing 5.6 Million Dormant BTC to Thwart Quantum Hackers

A prominent Bitcoin core developer, Jameson Lopp, has expressed his preference for freezing the estimated 5.6 million lost or dormant bitcoin, valued at approximately $420 billion, rather than risking them being seized by future quantum hackers. In an interview, Lopp emphasized that he does not wish to freeze anyone's bitcoin but believes removing dormant tokens from circulation might be safer for the network. His comments come after the release of BIP-361, a proposal that explores phasing out Bitcoin's current cryptographic signatures and potentially freezing assets that fail to migrate. Lopp hopes the proposal will never be needed, describing it as a 'rough idea for a contingency plan.' He believes that individual economic incentives outweigh philosophical principles in the face of an existential threat. Lopp has previously expressed concerns about quantum recovery, stating that it rewards technological supremacy rather than productive participation in the network. Approximately 28% of all bitcoin, or about 5.6 million tokens, has not moved in over a decade and is considered likely lost. If recovered through advances in quantum computing, this amount could introduce significant volatility and undermine confidence in the original crypto network. The proposal has sparked fierce debate within the community, with some arguing that freezing dormant bitcoin accounts would mark a significant departure from Bitcoin's core principles. Market analyst Mati Greenspan notes that the debate is more philosophical than technological, and freezing dormant coins could remove a major tail-risk and protect market confidence, but also introduces a precedent of intervention that many would argue is more dangerous than the threat itself.