Avalanche CEO calls for freezing Satoshi-era million Bitcoins amid quantum computing concerns
Early Bitcoin mined by Satoshi Nakamoto could become vulnerable to quantum computing, says Avalancheās Emin GĆ¼n Sirer, who is urging to consider freezing these coins.
Emin GĆ¼n Sirer, the founder of Avalanche avax2.96%Avalanche, sparked debate in a Dec.
10 post on X, proposing to freeze 1 million Bitcoins btc0.53%Bitcoin worth about $97 billion.
These coins, believed to have been mined in Bitcoinās early days, are often linked to its pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
But Sirerās proposal has nothing to do with the possible reappearance of Bitcoinās creator.
Instead, he raised concerns that quantum computing could threaten the security of these coins, which still use an older cryptographic standard.
Hello world
Sirerās idea comes shortly after Google unveiled its new quantum computing chip dubbed āWillow.ā
According to the tech giant, Willow can perform a standard benchmark computation in under five minutes āthat would take one of todayās fastest supercomputers 10 septillion (that is, 1025) years.ā
And while Willow canāt yet break Bitcoinās encryption, it marks a key step toward practical quantum computing.
Sirer claims that quantum computing āwill make it easier to perform certain operations, like factoring numbers, while others, such as inverting one-way hash functions, remain just as difficult.ā However, there are still too many ifs and buts.
Moral case
The thing is, Bitcoinās security is still solid against these advances because it relies on hashing algorithms and elliptic curve cryptography. But that canāt be said about Satoshi-era coins.
Thatās where Sirer points out the most important exception: early Bitcoin coins, including those likely mined by Nakamoto, used the Pay-to-Public-Key (P2PK) format.
Unlike newer formats, P2PK exposes the public key, giving quantum attackers more to work with.
The Avalanche CEO says these coins āprovide the āmother of all cryptography bounties,'ā emphasizing the risk posed by this older format if quantum computers become more capable.
Sirer argues that the Bitcoin community should consider āfreezingā coins stored in P2PK addresses or setting a āsunset dateā for their usability.
Such a move, he suggested, would protect Bitcoinās overall integrity from a future where quantum computers might crack P2PK cryptography.
The proposal, however, has drawn both support and criticism. Advocates see it as a proactive step to mitigate risks posed by emerging technology.
Critics, however, view it as an attack on the principles of decentralization and ownership that underpin Bitcoin.
Whatās the matter with P2PK
Most modern Bitcoin wallets use Pay-to-Public-Key-Hash ā also known as P2PKH ā or SegWit formats, which only reveal a hashed version of the public key.
The additional security layer ensures that even if a quantum computer exists, it would have to first invert the hash to extract useful information ā an extremely tough nut to crack.
In contrast, P2PK addresses store the public key in plaintext, giving potential attackers a direct starting point for quantum attacks using algorithms like Shorās, which can, in theory, break elliptic curve cryptography with enough computational power.
Ben Sigman, a Bitcoin entrepreneur, explained in an X post that despite the recent quantum developments, computers like Willow are still far from capable of launching such attacks.
āCracking Bitcoinās ECDSA 256 encryption would require over 1,000,000 qubits,ā Sigman wrote, adding further that Willowās 105 qubits āarenāt even close.ā
Critics push back on freezing proposal
An X user under the alias āmaeda_aaronā argued that freezing Satoshiās coins ācould flush out Satoshi from silence,ā adding that such a move is āmore detrimental to crypto than someone possibly being able to get access.ā
Others have raised doubts about how to identify and freeze these coins without causing more controversy.
āHow to clearly define āSatoshiās coinā? thatās the big issue,ā asked user under alias ār8raq,ā highlighting that āa sunset date and freeze all coins at P2PK utxos is just alike another ābirthright citizen cancellingā, itāll be a tremoudes controvosial issue!ā
Others worry about the precedent this could set for future changes. Bitcoinās ākiller featureā is that it canāt be easily changed, and messing with its rules might turn off users who like that it resists censorship and interference.
While the risks posed by quantum computing are speculative for now, Sirer and others believe the crypto community must prepare for consequences.
āRealistic attacks on cryptocurrencies are still a long way off,ā Sirer wrote. āFor now, letās all watch how quantum computers develop over the next few decades.ā
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