Charles Hoskinson Criticizes Bitcoin's Quantum Solution as Insufficient to Protect Satoshi's Holdings

Recently, Bitcoin's core developers suggested freezing 8 million coins to protect against quantum attacks. However, Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, believes this approach will not be able to save the coins belonging to Satoshi Nakamoto, the network's pseudonymous creator, as stated in a video on his YouTube channel. Hoskinson argues that the proposed solution, BIP-361, is technically incorrect and cannot protect the network's oldest coins, including the roughly 1 million bitcoin attributed to Satoshi. According to him, BIP-361 would require a hard fork, as it invalidates existing signature schemes that users are actively relying on. A hard fork is a significant change to the network's rules, which would render old software obsolete and potentially split the network unless all users upgrade. Hoskinson disagrees with the characterization of BIP-361 as a soft fork, which would allow old software to continue working without using new features. The proposal suggests that users with frozen funds could reclaim them by creating a zero-knowledge proof tied to their BIP-39 seed phrase. Nevertheless, Hoskinson claims this approach will not work for approximately 1.7 million bitcoin that predate BIP-39's introduction in 2013, including the coins 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 expressed his dislike for the proposal and hopes it will never be adopted. Hoskinson's criticism extends beyond the technical aspects, arguing that Bitcoin's lack of formal on-chain governance hinders the network's ability to resolve tradeoffs through a structured process, resulting in contentious upgrades being negotiated through developer mailing lists and social pressure.