Early Cypherpunk Adam Back, quoted by Satoshi Nakamoto in the White Book of Bitcoin, suggested that quantum computing pressure may reveal whether the pseudonic creator of blockchain is alive.
During the interview after the questions and response to the “Satoshi Spritz” event in Turin, on April 18, he suggested that quantum calculations could force Nakamoto to transfer Bitcoin (BTC). This is because, according to Back, Bitcoin owners will be forced to transfer their assets to newer, quantum addresses based on signatures.
Back said that the current quantum computers do not pose a credible threat to Bitcoin’s cryptography, but they will probably threaten it in the future. He estimated that quantum computers can evolve in this regard in “maybe 20 years”.
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When the threat becomes real, Back said that the Bitcoin community would have to choose between the depreciation of elderly, sensitive addresses or allowing these funds to be stolen:
“If quantum computers are here, and people from universities and research laboratories have access, the network has a choice to allow people to steal or freeze them – to strengthen the signature.”
He expects the community to go with the previous option, forcing the nickname Bitcoin creator to transfer funds if they want to avoid their loss.
Privacy improvements can complicate evidence
Despite this, Back said that whether such a situation would reveal or Satoshi Nakamoto lives also depends on the future features of Bitcoin’s privacy.
“It depends a bit on technology, there are some ideas for research that could increase the privacy of Bitcoin,” said Back. “There may be a way to solve quantum problems while maintaining privacy.”
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Despite this, not everyone is convinced that – improving privacy or not – such a scenario would reveal whether Nakamoto lived. Anonymous early miner Bitcoin and a member of the Bitcoin community told Cointelegraph that he does not expect Nakamoto coins to be moved:
“Even if he lives and holds private keys, I don’t think he moves them. On the basis of how he has worked so far, I would prefer to expect that he will allow the community to decide.”
He added that because it is a controversial choice, it is worth allowing the community to decide. He said he would be surprised if Nakamoto left the joinery to move the assets.
Bitcoins resistant to quantum
He explained back that most of the implementation of signs resistant to quantum is either unverified in terms of security or very high-priced from a data perspective. Quoted Laj Signatures as an elderly and proven project, but noted that they weigh dozens of kilobytes.
Therefore, he suggested that Bitcoin should be prepared to switch to a quantum -resistant signatures, but they do it only if necessary. He suggested a Bitcoin Taproot -based implementation, which, if necessary, allows switching to quantum -resistant signatures.
Warehouse: Bitcoin vs. The Quantum Computer Threats: TIME ABSE AND SOLUTIONS (2025–2035)
