Grayscale: The quantum challenge facing Bitcoin is “more social than technical”

Jinse Finance reported that on April 7, Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl stated that addressing the quantum threat facing Bitcoin is likely more of a social challenge than a technical one, especially if the community fails to reach consensus on some contentious issues. On March 30, Google released a paper that shocked the crypto industry, indicating that the resources required for quantum computers to crack the encryption algorithm used by Bitcoin may be far less than previously expected. However, Grayscale Head of Research Pandl believes that the problem with Bitcoin does not lie in technical solutions because “Bitcoin’s risk is lower than that of other cryptocurrencies.” Bitcoin uses the UTXO model and proof-of-work consensus mechanism, does not natively support smart contracts, and some address types are not subject to quantum computing threats. According to Pandl, the real challenge is that the community needs to make decisions on follow-up plans. The Bitcoin community is currently having heated debates on how to deal with dormant old coins, especially the approximately 1.7 million Bitcoins locked in early P2PK addresses, including about 1 million Bitcoins held by Satoshi Nakamoto, which is valued at around $6.8 billion at current prices.