Quantum Threat Sparks Debate Over Freezing $440 Billion in Dormant Bitcoin

The Bitcoin community is currently divided over Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 361 (BIP-361), which suggests freezing dormant assets to safeguard them from future quantum computing attacks. The proposal targets approximately 5.6 million BTC—valued at roughly $440 billion—held in decade-old wallets that lack modern cryptographic upgrades. Proponents, including core developer Jameson Lopp, argue that these funds are effectively lost and should be frozen by the network rather than left vulnerable to future quantum hackers. The proposal contemplates phasing out current cryptographic signatures and potentially freezing assets that fail to migrate to newer standards. However, opponents argue that any protocol-level freeze would signal that Bitcoin ownership is conditional rather than absolute. Samuel "Chad" Patt, founder of Op Net, warns that institutional risk desks would view this as a dangerous precedent, potentially triggering an immediate and severe repricing of the asset. Critics suggest that fund managers who allocated capital based on the censorship-resistance thesis would be mandated to unwind their positions if the network's core value proposition becomes negotiable. While some analysts believe a successful quantum attack would be more damaging than a freeze, others maintain that breaking the promise of inviolable property rights is an unacceptable solution that undermines the system's fundamental principles.