Charles Hoskinson Criticizes Bitcoin's Quantum Solution as Insufficient

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, has expressed concerns that Bitcoin's plan to defend against quantum attacks is technically incorrect and will not be able to rescue approximately 1.7 million older coins, including those attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto. Hoskinson argues that the proposed solution, known as BIP-361, is being misleadingly presented as a soft fork when it would actually require a hard fork, which would invalidate existing signature schemes. A hard fork would be necessary to implement the changes, which would render older software obsolete and potentially split the network unless all users upgrade. The BIP-361 proposal suggests using zero-knowledge proofs tied to BIP-39 seed phrases to reclaim frozen funds, but Hoskinson claims this approach will not work for approximately 1.7 million coins created before 2013, including those associated with Satoshi's early mining activity. These older coins were generated using a different key derivation method and would remain permanently frozen even if their owners attempt to migrate. Jameson Lopp, the core developer who co-authored BIP-361, has acknowledged that the proposal is not ideal and hopes it will not be necessary to implement it. Lopp estimates that freezing dormant coins would be preferable to allowing a future quantum attacker to recover and dump them on the market. Hoskinson's criticism extends beyond the technical aspects, arguing that Bitcoin's lack of formal on-chain governance makes it difficult to resolve tradeoffs through a structured process, leading to contentious upgrades being negotiated through developer mailing lists and social pressure.