Cardano Founder Disagrees with Bitcoin's Quantum Computing Solution, Claims It Won't Protect Satoshi's Coins

Earlier this week, Bitcoin's core developers proposed a solution to defend against quantum attacks by freezing 8 million coins. However, according to a video posted by Charles Hoskinson, this solution is technically incorrect and incapable of safeguarding the network's oldest coins, including the roughly 1 million bitcoin attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto. Hoskinson asserts that the proposed BIP-361 is being misleadingly presented as a soft fork when, in reality, it would necessitate a hard fork due to its invalidation of existing signature schemes. He emphasizes that this distinction is crucial, given Bitcoin's historical opposition to hard forks. Furthermore, Hoskinson argues that the plan's reliance on zero-knowledge proofs tied to BIP-39 seed phrases would not be able to rescue the approximately 1.7 million bitcoin that predate BIP-39's introduction in 2013, including Satoshi's coins, as these early coins were generated using a different key derivation method. If the proposal is implemented in its current form, these coins would remain permanently frozen. Jameson Lopp, the core developer behind BIP-361, has expressed his own reservations about the proposal, describing it as a contingency plan rather than a finalized specification. Hoskinson's criticism extends beyond the technical aspects, highlighting the limitations of Bitcoin's governance structure in resolving tradeoffs and negotiating upgrades.