A New Proposal Offers a Solution for Proving Control Over Bitcoin Without Moving Funds

Concerns over quantum computing have long plagued Bitcoin, with a significant problem being the potential theft of millions of bitcoin in old wallets with exposed public keys, including those attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto. A proposed soft fork, or upgrade to existing network rules, could stop allowing transactions from these legacy addresses, but this would force holders, including Satoshi, to publicly move their assets or risk losing them. However, a new proposal by Dan Robinson, a general partner at Paradigm, suggests using Provable Address-Control Timestamps, or PACTs, to create a private proof of ownership without having to move coins. This involves generating a random salt and using BIP-322 to produce a proof of ownership, which is then bundled and timestamped on the Bitcoin blockchain. If a soft fork freezing quantum-vulnerable coins is activated, the protocol could include a rescue path that accepts a STARK proof showing the holder created their commitment before quantum hardware existed. This solution addresses a gap in a previous proposal and provides a way to rescue wallets derived through BIP-32, but requires the adoption of a STARK verification protocol, which would need a separate soft fork and substantial new infrastructure. While this proposal offers a potential solution, it only protects Satoshi if he or whoever controls those keys creates the commitment, and the coins remain exposed if no action is taken.