Michael Turpin, founder and CEO of Transform Ventures and author of Bitcoin Supercycle, said freezing Satoshi’s coins would cross a line that Bitcoin has never crossed before. Terpin is sometimes referred to as the “Godfather of Cryptocurrency,” as he got involved in the industry around 2013, when it was still young and somewhat misunderstood by the mainstream.
“While we appreciate the aggressiveness of CZ’s proposal, it begins a slippery slope of creating permissions in a permissionless system related to private property,” Terpin told CoinDesk.
“If[Satoshi]really dies, as many Bitcoiners believe, then only a quantum hack will unlock the coin. If the coin is dumped, the price will drop significantly, but it will be a one-time event and post-quantization Bitcoin will recover.”
Terpin also questioned whether Bitcoin’s decentralized community would be able to agree to such a change. “Given that it took years just to implement SegWit, I don’t think we’ll see a consensus here anytime soon,” he said.
Jameson Ropp, co-founder and chief security officer of Casa, said CZ’s comments missed a larger issue. “I don’t really think this is a suggestion so much as he’s pondering a threat,” Ropp said in an email interview.
To freeze or not to freeze
Ropp, also a prominent cypherpunk and leading Bitcoin developer and advocate, said the discussion was not about Satoshi’s coin. It’s about preparing Bitcoin for a future where today’s cryptography is no longer secure. “I don’t think this is an either/or debate of ‘to freeze or not to freeze.'”
