Paradigm Partner Proposes PACTs, Allowing Satoshi-Era Coin Holders to Prove Ownership without Moving BTC

BlockBeats News, May 2nd. Concerns about Bitcoin's vulnerability to quantum computing have always revolved around a "Satoshi-related dilemma." If a powerful enough quantum computer were to emerge, hundreds of millions of bitcoins stored in old wallets where the public keys have been exposed could face a theft risk. This includes approximately 1.1 million bitcoins allegedly belonging to the anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto, currently valued at around $84 billion. Senior developer Jameson Lopp and five other developers formally proposed this plan in mid-April through BIP-361, which will gradually phase out quantum-vulnerable addresses over a five-year period and freeze any coins that have not completed the migration.

However, this proposal has created another issue: Satoshi Nakamoto and all other long-dormant holders will have to publicly "come forward," or risk losing access to their assets. Dan Robinson, a general partner at Paradigm, released a proposal on Friday suggesting a way to circumvent this trade-off, with the core concept being "Provable Address Control Time-stamps" (PACTs).

The central idea behind PACTs is not to move coins but to timestamp all ownership proofs on a specific date, without revealing any information until the wallet owner actually needs to spend. If Bitcoin were to later enact a soft fork to freeze coins vulnerable to quantum attacks, the protocol could include a rescue path accepting STARK proofs (a form of zero-knowledge proof that remains secure against quantum computers), proving that the holder made their commitment before the existence of quantum hardware. The holder submits this proof when they wish to spend, and the network releases the corresponding coins. This redemption process will not disclose any information about the address, amount, or even the original timestamp creation time.