Charles Hoskinson Criticizes Bitcoin's Quantum Solution, Claims It Won't Protect Satoshi's Coins

A recent proposal by Bitcoin's core developers to protect against quantum attacks has been met with criticism from Cardano's founder, Charles Hoskinson. He believes the plan, which involves freezing 8 million coins, is technically flawed and won't save the network's oldest coins, including those belonging to Satoshi Nakamoto. According to Hoskinson, the proposal, known as BIP-361, is being misrepresented as a soft fork when it would actually require a hard fork, which is a more fundamental change to the network's rules. This distinction is significant, as Bitcoin's development culture has traditionally opposed hard forks. Hoskinson also argues that the proposal's reliance on zero-knowledge proofs tied to BIP-39 seed phrases won't work for approximately 1.7 million coins that predate BIP-39's introduction in 2013, including the roughly 1 million coins associated with Satoshi's early mining activity. These coins were generated using a different key derivation method and would remain permanently frozen if the proposal passes in its current form. The proposal's authors have acknowledged its limitations, with co-author Jameson Lopp describing it as a 'rough idea for a contingency plan' rather than a finalized specification. 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.