Don't think it's possible to get consensus on burning millions of BTC. The more conservative approach of letting vulnerable coins remain seems both more ethical and more likely to be adopted. If it redistributes some wealth to those with quantum computers this is not too much different from the way...

If I have lost sats (which I do), I'd want to be able to hire a quantum service engineer to unlock them for me.

What if someone has hundreds of UTXOs because they've stacking using DCA? They would need to do hundreds of small transactions (one input to one quantum resistant output) or one transaction consolidating UTXOs into one address, thus undermining their privacy.

Also, dumb question: is there a way to make the current UTXO set quantum resistant, with no need to migrate to quantum resistant addresses?

I haven't finished reading yet, but is there a world where we do nothing, Satoshi is still alive, moves their coins to a quantum safe address. Obviously not something to rely on, but a wild possibility.

Thanks for your service. I'll read it tonight

₿ will find a solution when the problem arises. An update will be done and everyone will move on to the next update. It's not an urgent problem right now.

and that's why i run a node, so people like lopp don't fuck with Bitcoin

I would be a little shocked (and very disappointed) if a consensus could even be achieved to invalidate keys without explicit owner consent. Putting that aside, assuming such a consensus were possible, I don't think there will be a clear moment in time that funds move from being non-quantum vulnera...

we would be sure if satoshi is still alive then. I guess he'd move his coins then.

I like the idea of a 4 year deadline before the burn. If you miss that deadline it's your own fault.

When steel manning your argument, I think you missed a big one: Allowing this jackpot to continue to exist will incentivize research into quantum computing, and one would hope that would be a net benefit for humanity. It's similar how Bitcoin mining incentivizes the development of stranded renewabl...

This topic pulled my heart, gut, and mind in different directions. Landfill guy was the first to come to mind when I started reading this. White hats or bleeding hearts, I can't see them possessing the power and/or value system to be the first. My finances and heart like your argument, but my mind...

but, this kills the incentive for developing quantum computers :)

It'd be tantamount to rolling back the chain. People are responsible for their own coins. If they leave them laying around unsecured, so be it. Better they be stolen by a quantum adversary than stolen by a band of those who would compromise the immutability of the chain.

Great article. Thanks. How will quantum computing affect garden variety bitcoin mining? Do quantum computers have any supped up ability to mine? Is the expectation that all other assets would be quantum resistant before bitcoin? Also, in a world of quantum computers what would the quantum folks...

The conservative & Self-Sovereignty arguments speak to me the most. There will always be people for whom 21m supply of Bitcoin will be a an inherent feature.

i dont know if i agree with this but appreciate you putting your thoughts out there

Sounds like a slippery slope 🧼

The biggest threat to Bitcoin is not quantum computers; it’s our response. Perceived threat ≠ actual threat When will Bitcoiners acknowledge the inherent problem of centralization in quantum computing? When will Bitcoiners acknowledge that Bitcoin is the only functional and operational quantum...

Great article and thank you for what you do! It’s good to have a plan, and plans can change along the way!

Quantum is fundamentally a very sophisticated way of stealing keys. We should not change Bitcoin to prevent stealing keys, or remediate after the fact. Just because it's high-tech, and hasn't happened yet, doesn't justify it. Once we start allowing changes based on righting perceived wrongs it's ove...

I think that would be a bit "etherianish"...

QC ist FUD to scam more research funding out of governments and low-IQ investors. There isn't even a PoC yet, only vast claims. Build a PoC that can crack an 8bit key, then let's talk. Until then GTFO.

I have gone back and forth on this. Another potential option is to throttle these UTXOs. I don't know if I like that either but it is worth discussing.