Charles Hoskinson Says Bitcoin Quantum Upgrade Cannot Save Coins

Charles Hoskinson, a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency industry, said Bitcoin’s proposed “quantum” upgrade would require a hard fork and would not be able to recover early coins associated with Satoshi Nakamoto.

Bitcoin quantum proposal framed as hard fork

Bitcoin developers have proposed BIP-361, which aims to freeze addresses considered vulnerable to future quantum computers. The proposal is intended to phase out older signature schemes and protect dormant funds.

Hoskinson rejected the characterization of the plan as a soft fork. In a YouTube video, he said, “To actually do this, you need a hard fork,” arguing that the proposal would invalidate signature rules that users still depend on. He said older software would stop working unless all participants upgrade.

Developers described BIP-361 as a rule tightening that older nodes could still accept. Hoskinson said the change instead alters core validation standards. He also noted that Bitcoin’s culture has historically opposed hard forks because they change network history.

Debate continues among proposal critics

BIP-361 co-author Jameson Lopp responded to the dispute on X this week. He said he does not like the proposal and hopes adoption is never required, describing it as “a rough idea for a contingency plan” rather than a final policy.

Early holdings cannot be recovered under the plan

Hoskinson said BIP-361 cannot protect or recover roughly 1.7 million early bitcoins. He stated that about 1.1 million of those coins belong to Satoshi Nakamoto and argued that they predate modern wallet standards.

BIP-361 includes a mechanism for reclaiming frozen funds using zero-knowledge proofs. Under the proposal, the proof would link ownership to a BIP-39 seed phrase used in newer wallets. Hoskinson said this approach cannot work for early coins because older wallets did not use seed phrases.

He explained that the original Bitcoin software relied on a local key pool, generating private keys without a deterministic seed phrase. As a result, he said, no BIP-39-based proof can verify ownership of those older holdings.

Hoskinson said, “1.7 million coins can’t do that. It’s not possible.” He added that migration would require cryptographic proof that early holders cannot produce, meaning those coins would remain frozen under the proposal.

Dormant supply and the stated rationale for freezing

Lopp estimated that 5.6 million bitcoin are dormant across the network. He argued that freezing those coins would be safer than allowing quantum attackers to unlock them, presenting the freeze as a protective option rather than a finalized policy.