Cardano Founder Claims Bitcoin's Quantum Solution is a Hard Fork That Fails to Protect Satoshi's Holdings

Earlier this week, Bitcoin's core developers proposed a solution to defend against quantum attacks by freezing 8 million coins. However, according to Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, this solution is technically flawed and cannot protect the network's oldest coins, including the roughly 1 million bitcoin linked to Satoshi Nakamoto. Hoskinson asserts that the proposed BIP-361 is mislabeled as a soft fork and would actually require a hard fork, as it invalidates existing signature schemes. He argues that the distinction between a soft fork and a hard fork is crucial, as Bitcoin's development culture has historically opposed hard forks. A hard fork would change the rules so fundamentally that old software would stop working entirely, potentially causing the network to split unless all users upgrade. The BIP-361 proposal suggests using a zero-knowledge proof tied to the BIP-39 seed phrase to reclaim frozen funds. Nevertheless, Hoskinson claims this approach is ineffective for approximately 1.7 million bitcoins predating BIP-39's introduction in 2013, including those associated with Satoshi's early mining activities. These 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 behind BIP-361, has acknowledged that the proposal is not ideal 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, leading to contentious upgrades being negotiated through developer mailing lists and social pressure.