Cardano Founder Warns of Potential Bitcoin Losses Due to Quantum Computing

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, has weighed in on the potential consequences of a quantum computer being developed for Bitcoin. As an expert in post-quantum cryptography, Hoskinson highlighted three possible scenarios for the fate of Satoshi's coins.

The first scenario is to do nothing, which would leave the entire system vulnerable to being broken if a quantum computer exists. However, Hoskinson emphasized that this option is not feasible and would likely result in significant security risks.

Alternatively, Bitcoin could implement a soft fork with post-quantum signatures added. In this scenario, Hoskinson estimated that around 15-20% of the Bitcoin supply might be stolen from vulnerable legacy keys. However, this number could still be significantly higher if BIP 361 is implemented instead.

BIP 361 is a new Bitcoin improvement proposal aimed at saving as much as 34% of Bitcoin's supply by freezing coins that do not migrate to quantum-resistant addresses in the future. However, according to Hoskinson, this proposal would still leave around 1.7 million coins vulnerable, including at least 1.1 million belonging to Satoshi Nakamoto.