New Quantum Proposal Offers Solution for Bitcoin's Satoshi Conundrum

Concerns about quantum computing have long plagued Bitcoin, with millions of coins, including those tied to Satoshi Nakamoto, at risk of theft. A proposed soft fork could mitigate this by phasing out vulnerable addresses, but this would require dormant holders like Satoshi to publicly move their assets or risk losing them. To address this issue, Dan Robinson of Paradigm has introduced the concept of Provable Address-Control Timestamps, or PACTs, which allow holders to timestamp proof of ownership without revealing their identities. This is achieved by generating a random salt and using it to create a unique cryptographic commitment, which is then bundled with a proof of ownership and timestamped on the Bitcoin blockchain via OpenTimestamps. If a soft fork freezing quantum-vulnerable coins is implemented, holders can later submit a zero-knowledge proof to redeem their coins without revealing any sensitive information. While PACTs offer a potential solution for protecting assets like Satoshi's, they require the adoption of a STARK verification protocol, which would need a separate soft fork and broad community consensus. The implementation of PACTs also relies on the creation of substantial new infrastructure, including multisig wallets and complex scripts. Ultimately, PACTs provide a way to balance the need to protect against quantum theft with the need to respect dormant property rights, but their effectiveness depends on the willingness of holders like Satoshi to utilize them.