Your Keys, Your Coins... Until They Get Frozen?

Jameson Lopp, a long-time Bitcoin advocate and self-custody proponent, has proposed a protocol change that would freeze coins vulnerable to quantum attacks - including those believed to belong to Satoshi.

So much for self-custody. You can store your BTC securely, trust no one, and still face the risk that someone will come along years later with a technically feasible way to freeze your coins.
Not exactly the image of Bitcoin as untouchable digital property, is it?

But there’s a silver lining. Lopp’s proposal includes an optional mechanism to recover access to frozen coins - not a true freeze, but more like a deliberate hurdle to using outdated addresses. It also proposes banning new coins from being sent to quantum-vulnerable addresses.

At first glance, it may seem a bit pointless:

• If someone doesn’t want to upgrade to quantum-safe addresses, they can just HODL and recover funds later if needed.
• If a hacker breaks an old address with a quantum computer, they too might be able to recover the funds via the same mechanism. So this doesn’t exactly stop attacks.

Still, one part of the proposal stands out: three years after activation, sending BTC to quantum-vulnerable addresses would be banned. That means the number of risky coins won’t keep growing - a big step for Bitcoin’s long-term security.

And let’s face it - in Bitcoin, new tech only gains traction when there’s some pain or pressure. Without incentives like this, upgrades tend to move at a glacial pace.

In any case, Bitcoin will remain resilient. And rabbit.io will remain your reliable place to swap BTC for any other crypto - fast and at the best rates.