- New Bitcoin upgrade proposal splits opinions.
- Developers say freezing Bitcoin in vulnerable wallets is necessary to defend against a potential quantum attack.
- A future quantum computer could threaten the $1.5 trillion blockchain.
Satoshi Nakamoto is one of the richest people in the world, but a new proposal risks locking away the Bitcoin founder’s trove forever.
A group of six Bitcoin developers and quantum computer experts have proposed permanently deactivating vulnerable wallets in a bid to protect the network from future quantum attacks.
The proposal, published on Tuesday, would upgrade the blockchain to stop users from sending Bitcoin to vulnerable wallets, and eventually reject any transaction from those wallets at a predetermined point in the future.
Bitcoin left in vulnerable wallets at that time would become permanently locked away, although the developers say measures could be put in place to allow owners to recover their coins.
Many Bitcoin proponents have already slammed the proposal. They say it is authoritarian, punishes long-term holders, and goes against Bitcoin’s core values as a neutral and immutable asset.
“I know folks don't like it. I don't like it myself. I wrote it because I like the alternative even less,” said Jameson Lopp, a prominent Bitcoin developer and one of the proposal’s authors.
“I hope it never needs to be considered for adoption.”
The move comes amid fears that the development of superfast computers that make use of quantum phenomena is accelerating.
Such a computer could theoretically break the encryption that underpins not just Bitcoin but much of the encryption that digital infrastructure is built around, too.
A June report from consulting firm McKinsey & Company predicts that based on the current rate of development, a cryptographically-relevant quantum computer could be developed as early as next year.
Bitcoin honeypot
For most Bitcoin users, mitigating a future quantum risk will be as simple as moving their Bitcoin to a new wallet that uses quantum-resistant cryptography once one has been added to the network.
Yet even today, 34% of all Bitcoin sits in older so-called pay-to-public-key wallets created before 2012. These wallets will be the first to fall to quantum attack because they directly expose the user's full public key on the blockchain, rather than a hashed version.
Among those older wallets are several belonging to the blockchain’s secretive creator Nakamoto, which hold some $81 billion worth of Bitcoin. That would make Nakamoto the 25th richest person in the world when compared to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List.
It’s unlikely that Nakamoto or the owners of other old wallets will move their Bitcoin to new quantum-resistant wallets for many reasons. The owners of the wallets may have lost access to them, passed away, or simply not have been paying attention.
Whatever the reason, the situation creates a honeypot for anyone developing a quantum computer.
‘Only credible defence’
There is only one solution to that threat, according to many Bitcoin proponents.
That is to update the blockchain with a new quantum-resistant form of cryptography before quantum computers become powerful enough to break into users’ wallets.
The new proposal aims to speed up this transition, while also protecting old wallets from attack, by setting a time in the future where transfers to and from quantum vulnerable wallets will be disallowed.
“The longer we postpone migration, the harder it becomes to coordinate wallets, exchanges, miners, and custodians,” the proposal said. “A clear, time-boxed pathway is the only credible defence.”
The developers propose that in three years, the only Bitcoin transfers users will be able to make are to wallets using quantum-resistant cryptography.
Two years after that, the network will start rejecting all transactions that rely on quantum vulnerable cryptography.
“Bitcoin users and stakeholders gain certainty that a plan is both in place and being implemented to effectively deal with the threat of quantum theft of bitcoin,” the proposal said.
Yet for some, such an idea is unacceptable, despite its stated benefits.
“Forcing migration at the consensus layer is too heavy-handed, especially given the likely trade-offs in cost, efficiency, and usability of post-quantum schemes,” Wicked, a pseudonymous Bitcoin advocate, said.
What’s more, a significant number of Bitcoin proponents say they’re still not convinced quantum computers will ever pose a meaningful threat to the blockchain.
“The quantum threat remains theoretical, and the economics of such an attack make it unlikely to target the vast majority of users,” Wicked said.
Tim Craig is DL News’ Edinburgh-based DeFi Correspondent. Reach out with tips at tim@dlnews.com.
