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Saylor argues that quantum computing won’t undermine Bitcoin, but he advocates for a hard fork to lock down vulnerable P2PK coins, aiming to reduce supply and provoke discussions on ethics, security, and governance.
Summary
- Saylor suggests a hard fork that is not backwards-compatible, aimed at freezing old P2PK outputs, including those from the Satoshi era, claiming it would decrease supply and enhance security.
- Critics label the proposal as overly complicated with significant systemic risks, questioning whether developers should take steps to censor or seize funds linked to early addresses.
- Experts mention that while large quantum computers capable of breaking ECDSA are years away, unprotected P2PK UTXOs and reused keys are inherently susceptible to future quantum threats.
Michael Saylor, the founder of MicroStrategy, asserted that quantum computing won’t compromise the Bitcoin network, instead suggesting a hard fork to tackle potential weaknesses.
This update, which would be incompatible with previous versions, aims to freeze P2PK outputs at risk from quantum attacks, a proposal Saylor shared on X, formerly Twitter. He indicated that such changes would lessen bitcoin supply, enhance security, and fortify the network.
Saylor and Bitcoin remain a focal point
The suggested hard fork would inhibit Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous originator of Bitcoin, from using coins tied to early P2PK addresses. Furthermore, this upgrade would mandate that nodes and miners adopt new, backwards-incompatible software.
“The Bitcoin quantum leap: Quantum computing won’t dismantle Bitcoin (BTC)—it will fortify it. Network updates, active coins transition, lost coins remain frozen. Security increases. Supply decreases. Bitcoin becomes more robust,” Saylor elaborated in his post.
However, the proposal faced backlash from the cryptocurrency community. A developer remarked that the described measures were “extremely complicated with massive risks and external ramifications,” according to responses to the post. Others challenged the ethics of freezing assets belonging to different parties.
While quantum computers theoretically threaten Bitcoin’s cryptographic framework, experts indicate that such advancements are still several years or decades off. Large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers utilizing Shor’s algorithm could potentially compromise the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) that Bitcoin employs, enabling attackers to extract private keys from specific P2PK public keys.
The vulnerable outputs encompass unspent transaction outputs from Bitcoin’s formative years, including those owned by Satoshi Nakamoto and early developer Hal Finney. If a private key were to be exposed, an attacker could authorize transactions and deplete the entire bitcoin balance in the corresponding wallet.
Saylor is the executive chairman of Strategy, a business intelligence company that has amassed considerable bitcoin reserves as part of its corporate treasury strategy.
