Cardano Founder Disputes Bitcoin's Quantum Solution, Claims it Won't Protect Satoshi's Coins

Recently, Bitcoin's core developers proposed a solution to defend against quantum attacks by freezing 8 million coins. However, Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, believes this proposal will not protect the network's oldest coins, including those belonging to Satoshi Nakamoto. Hoskinson claims that BIP-361, the proposal to phase out quantum-vulnerable addresses, is being misleadingly presented as a soft fork when it would actually require a hard fork. This distinction is significant, as Bitcoin's development culture has historically opposed hard forks. A hard fork would invalidate existing signature schemes that users rely on, whereas a soft fork would only tighten the rules without disrupting old software. The proposal suggests using zero-knowledge proofs tied to BIP-39 seed phrases to reclaim frozen funds, but Hoskinson argues that this approach cannot rescue approximately 1.7 million pre-2013 coins, including those associated with Satoshi's early mining activity. These early coins were generated using a different key derivation method and would remain permanently frozen if the proposal passes in its current form. Jameson Lopp, the core developer who co-authored BIP-361, has acknowledged that the proposal is not a finalized specification and hopes it will never need to be adopted. Hoskinson's critique extends beyond the technical details, arguing that Bitcoin's lack of formal on-chain governance hinders the network's ability to resolve tradeoffs through a structured process.