Why Burning BTC Is The Only Solution (According to Jameson Lopp)

Mr. Jameson Lopp, a gentleman of considerable repute and chief security officer at the esteemed Casa, a haven for Bitcoin (BTC) custody, has recently put forth a most intriguing proposition. In a matter most urgent, he advocates for the rather dramatic, though he would say necessary, option of *burning* BTC coins rather than permitting quantum recovery. His concern lies in the preservation of the Bitcoin protocol’s honor, suggesting that such a bold move may well be the most prudent course of action.

According to Mr. Lopp, granting individuals or institutions in possession of quantum computers the ability to recover lost BTC would be, in his words, an unspeakable affront to the fundamental virtues of the Bitcoin network. Such a breach would disturb the delicate balance of censorship resistance, transaction immutability, and, dare I say, the essential conservatism upon which the system stands.

In his most recent treatise, penned on the 16th day of March, Mr. Lopp wrote a rather scathing rebuke of the notion of quantum recovery. He proclaimed, with no small degree of fervor:

“Allowing quantum recovery of bitcoin is tantamount to wealth redistribution. What we would be allowing is for bitcoin to be redistributed from those who are ignorant of quantum computers to those who have won the technological race to acquire quantum computers.”

Mr. Lopp’s rhetoric does not end there, for he insists that there is, quite simply, no silver lining in this bleak scenario. “It is hard to see a bright side to that,” he mused, before resolutely concluding that allowing such recovery would only serve to harm the integrity of the Bitcoin network. A rather bold assertion, don’t you think? 🤔

The threat of quantum computers, those enigmatic machines that have captured the collective imagination, remains a topic of heated discourse. Some declare that their potential to undo modern encryption is still many decades away, while others argue that the threat is as real as tomorrow’s breakfast. Some even go so far as to claim that the threat is an utter fabrication, and quantum computers will never be practical. Quite the variety of opinions, as you can see!

The Great Quantum Scare of 2024

Ah, but the plot thickens! In October of the year 2024, esteemed researchers at Shanghai University made the bold assertion that they had, in fact, broken the encryption standards used in the most secure realms of military and banking operations, all thanks to the mighty power of a quantum computer.

However, not all were persuaded by this claim. The ever-watchful YouTuber, known by the curious moniker of “Mental Outlaw,” took to his platform to question the validity of these proclamations. In a most impassioned rebuttal, he suggested that the research team’s claims were, at best, a tad exaggerated, and at worst, entirely misleading. He argued that the quantum computer had only succeeded in factoring the number 2,269,753—hardly a feat to set the world ablaze with wonder. This new record, he declared, was still far behind what some classical computers had already accomplished. 😏

But let us not linger too long on these technicalities. The device in question, according to “Mental Outlaw,” was able to break only a 22-bit key, a feat easily surpassed by the power of classical machines, which had managed to break an impressive 892-bit key. One must confess, the disparity is rather striking, is it not?

Modern encryption, my dear reader, is a thing of grandeur and complexity, with key sizes ranging from 2048 to a staggering 4096 bits. Should the need arise, the powers that be have the option to extend these key sizes, ensuring that the security of the system shall remain intact for the foreseeable future. All in all, it seems we may yet have some time before the quantum revolution arrives at our doorsteps, or at least, so we hope! 😉

2025-03-16 22:58

The Great Quantum Scare of 2024

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