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BIP-361 is set to arrive in April 2026, proposing to freeze 6.5 million bitcoins that are considered vulnerable to quantum attacks. The proposal also highlights that more than a million of those coins are believed to be linked to Satoshi Nakamoto, pointing to exposed public keys and real vulnerabilities tied to specific on-chain address formats. The central concern is that Bitcoin enforces technical control rather than legal ownership “on paper,” raising the question of who truly owns coins if a quantum computer can break the relevant keys.
The quantum threat does not affect every bitcoin address equally. A typical address does not reveal its public key until funds are moved, which limits what an attacker can compute from a dormant address alone. By contrast, older output types can expose public keys directly, enabling quantum attackers to compute corresponding private keys once the public key is known.
The article notes that certain legacy constructions—such as pay-to-public-key outputs—expose everything, and it also claims that Taproot, “ironically,” exposes public keys by design.
It cites research published by Google Quantum AI on March 31, 2026, stating that the secp256k1 curve could be broken with fewer than 500,000 physical qubits. The piece contrasts this with earlier estimates that suggested millions of qubits, arguing that even if current hardware is not yet capable, algorithmic optimization is advancing faster than hardware.
It further estimates that 2 to 3 million bitcoins may be dormant in vulnerable formats, including those associated with early miners and Satoshi’s old addresses. It also connects these risks to modern Taproot addresses that, according to the article, expose public keys by design.
The article argues that classic property law treats recovering a private key via quantum computation as theft rather than legitimate “recovery” of an abandoned asset. It emphasizes that Bitcoin’s rules enforce technical control, while legal ownership depends on established concepts such as intent and manifest acts.
Inactivity alone is not enough to establish abandonment. The piece compares it to leaving a house empty for years: the property remains yours without a clear intention to renounce and a corresponding act.
It also references the UK’s Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025, describing it as creating a distinct category for crypto-tokens. According to the article, this helps prevent dormancy from being interpreted as automatic abandonment. It adds that other jurisdictions may follow similar approaches.
On inheritance, the article states that bitcoins do not become ownerless when someone dies. Titles pass to heirs, or to the state if no one comes forward. It also claims that lost keys do not transfer legal title, and that technical inaccessibility is not a transfer of ownership. In that framing, a stranger who obtains a private key through quantum computation would not be “discovering” abandoned property, but gaining the technical ability to move someone else’s property.
The article describes dormant bitcoins as coming from multiple sources, including forgotten paper wallets, poorly labeled backups, and storage practices from 2010 to 2013 when long-term security was less considered. It also notes that some holders may intentionally avoid moving coins, making it difficult to distinguish lost assets from coins held by strategy, conviction, or neglect.
It argues that proving abandonment requires clear intent, and that non-use of a high-value asset does not by itself prove abandonment—an approach that applies to land, inheritances, and dormant bank accounts, and would apply to bitcoins as well.
It states that succession can work even when assets become difficult to manage, because legal mechanisms already exist. An heir can claim bitcoins by proving the deceased owned them, even without having the keys, turning the challenge into a technical rather than legal one.
However, it says BIP-361 does not resolve these issues; it raises them. Freezing coins to protect against quantum threats may be straightforward, but the article questions who decides next, who can unlock the coins, and what proof of ownership would be required.
It adds that future “quantum key holders” would likely need to prove their right beyond demonstrating they can move the coins. This could lead to disputes where courts must weigh technical control against legal ownership—two concepts the article says do not yet align cleanly in practice.
The article reports a lack of public reaction from major financial institutions, stating that it has found no public comments from major banks or funds holding Bitcoin. It suggests that this absence could complicate matters later, particularly if BIP-361 is adopted and decisions about unlocking authority become necessary.
It also warns that the market impact could be severe if a quantum attack successfully moves dormant bitcoins, arguing that confidence could collapse and that the price would likely follow. It further contends that the economic implications could extend beyond the 6.5 million BTC involved, because if those coins are compromised, other holdings may be viewed as suspect.
Finally, it notes that legal precedents are limited, stating that no court has ruled on crypto theft by quantum calculation because it does not yet exist in practice. It concludes that the legal system may need to respond quickly.
BIP-361 aims to freeze over 6.5 million bitcoins vulnerable to quantum attacks, including more than a million coins potentially linked to Satoshi Nakamoto.
According to the article, old pay-to-public-key addresses and certain script constructions expose the public key directly, allowing quantum computers to compute the corresponding private key.
The article cites Google Quantum AI research published on March 31, 2026, saying fewer than 500,000 physical qubits could suffice to break Bitcoin’s secp256k1 curve, reducing earlier estimates.
No. The article says classic property law treats extracting a private key by quantum calculation as theft, not as a discovery or legitimate recovery of an abandoned asset.
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