Bitcoin
Bitcoin Developers Debate Freezing Satoshi Nakamoto's Coins to Counter Quantum Risks
A proposed Bitcoin Improvement Proposal aims to protect early untouched wallets from future quantum computing attacks by freezing exposed public keys.
An estimated 1.1 million bitcoin attributed to creator Satoshi Nakamoto remain untouched across early network addresses, representing approximately 5.5% of the 20.10 million coins in circulation. At a recent price of $83,045, these holdings are valued at roughly $91 billion or 81.5 billion euros. The estimate is based on the 2013 research of computer scientist Sergio Demian Lerner, who identified a distinct mining pattern in blocks produced between the network launch on January 3, 2009, and Nakamoto's departure in spring 2011.
These early coins reside in pay-to-public-key (P2PK) addresses, where public keys are openly visible on the blockchain. A developer proposal known as BIP-361 suggests freezing these funds before advancing quantum computers can derive private keys from exposed public keys to execute unauthorized transfers.
The draft notes that over 34% of all circulating bitcoin had exposed public keys as of March 1, 2026. While BIP-361 authors point to quantum development timelines that could see viable machines emerge between 2027 and 2030, other experts anticipate a substantially longer timeframe for such capabilities.
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