Cardano Founder Challenges Bitcoin's Quantum Fix, Claims it Won't Rescue Satoshi's Coins

A recent proposal by Bitcoin's core developers to protect against quantum attacks has been met with skepticism by Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, who claims the plan is both mislabeled and incapable of saving approximately 1.7 million pre-2013 bitcoins, including those held by Satoshi Nakamoto. In a video, Hoskinson argued that the proposed BIP-361 would functionally require a hard fork, as it would invalidate existing signature schemes, despite being presented as a soft fork. He emphasized that a hard fork is necessary to implement the changes, which contradicts Bitcoin's development culture that has historically opposed hard forks. The proposal suggests using zero-knowledge proofs tied to BIP-39 seed phrases to reclaim frozen funds, but Hoskinson pointed out that this approach would not work for approximately 1.7 million bitcoins that predate BIP-39's introduction in 2013, 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. 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, leading to contentious upgrades being negotiated through developer mailing lists and social pressure.