Charles Hoskinson Claims Bitcoin's Quantum Solution is a Hard Fork That Fails to Protect Satoshi's Coins

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, has expressed concerns that the proposed solution to defend Bitcoin against quantum attacks is flawed. In a recent video, Hoskinson argued that the plan, known as BIP-361, is technically incorrect and would not be able to protect the network's oldest coins, including those attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto. He believes that the proposal, which aims to phase out quantum-vulnerable bitcoin 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 traditionally opposed hard forks. Hoskinson also pointed out that the proposed solution, which involves using zero-knowledge proofs tied to BIP-39 seed phrases, would not be able to recover approximately 1.7 million bitcoins that were generated before 2013, including those associated with Satoshi's early mining activity. These coins were created using a different key derivation method and would remain permanently frozen if the proposal is implemented. Jameson Lopp, the core developer behind BIP-361, has acknowledged that the proposal is not ideal and hopes it will not be necessary. However, he believes that freezing dormant coins would be preferable to allowing a future quantum attacker to recover and dump them on the market. Hoskinson's critique extends beyond the technical details, arguing that Bitcoin's lack of formal on-chain governance makes it difficult to resolve tradeoffs and implement upgrades in a structured manner.