He is the author of Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 361 (BIP-361), which describes a gradual migration to quantum-resistant cryptography.
“The goal is to create incentives and timelines for users, exchanges, custodians, wallets and institutions to actually migrate in a timely manner,” said Lopp, who said in April that it would be better to freeze Satoshi’s hoard and millions of other dormant bitcoins than to let hackers steal them.
Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, dismissed both the theft of the coins and their outright freezing.
Instead, he highlighted a proposal from Castle Island Ventures partner Nic Carter that would place Satoshi’s bitcoin in a legal trust until ownership can be proven through historical electronic records.
Avoiding philosophical challenges
“I actually like Nic Carter’s proposal,” Hougan said via email. “This avoids the philosophical challenges of CZ’s suggestion and the ‘let it happen whatever happens’ perspective.”
Hougan said the market already views Satoshi’s holdings as effectively unavailable, meaning almost any change would create more risks than opportunities.
“I don’t think the developments around Satoshi coins are positive for the ecosystem,” he said. “The market already sees them as frozen forever.”
For now, the debate remains largely theoretical. Researchers are still working on practical post-quantum cryptography for Bitcoin, and no consensus has been reached on how the network should respond if its encryption becomes vulnerable.
