New Proposal Offers Solution for Bitcoin's Quantum Computing Concerns, Potentially Protecting Satoshi Nakamoto's Holdings

Concerns about quantum computing have long plagued Bitcoin, with a significant issue being the potential theft of millions of bitcoin stored in old wallets with exposed public keys, including those attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto, worth around $84 billion. A proposed soft fork, BIP-361, aims to phase out quantum-vulnerable addresses over five years, but this would require dormant holders like Satoshi to publicly move their assets or risk losing them. To address this issue, Dan Robinson from Paradigm has proposed Provable Address-Control Timestamps (PACTs), which allow holders to generate a proof of ownership without spending or revealing their assets publicly. This is achieved by creating a cryptographic commitment using a random salt and BIP-322, then timestamping it through OpenTimestamps. If Bitcoin activates a soft fork that freezes quantum-vulnerable coins, holders can submit a zero-knowledge proof to redeem their assets without revealing any information about the original timestamp. PACTs also provide a rescue path for wallets derived through BIP-32, addressing a gap in BIP-361. However, this solution requires Bitcoin to adopt a STARK verification protocol, which would need a separate soft fork and substantial new infrastructure. Ultimately, PACTs offer a way to make the BIP-361 debate less binary, but their effectiveness depends on whether holders, including Satoshi, choose to utilize them.