Freezing dormant BTC would trigger worst single day repricing in bitcoin’s history, says maximalist
CoinDesk • • business
Key Points:
- Bitcoin developers and industry experts are debating whether to freeze approximately 5.6 million dormant BTC, worth around $440 billion, to protect them from potential theft by future quantum computing attacks.
- Freezing dormant coins could trigger an immediate and severe repricing of bitcoin, undermining its core value proposition of unconditional ownership and censorship resistance, according to critics like Samuel "Chad" Patt.
- Proponents of freezing, including developer Jameson Lopp, argue it is a necessary precaution to safeguard against quantum threats, while opponents warn it would violate bitcoin's principles of immutability and permissionlessness.
- Some experts suggest alternative solutions such as voluntary migration and improved tooling, emphasizing that the protocol could evolve to address quantum risks without compromising fundamental values.
- The bitcoin community remains divided, with many maximalists favoring inaction over freezing, believing that any protocol-level confiscation would contradict bitcoin’s foundational ethos.
