{"id":27521,"date":"2026-05-04T23:08:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T23:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/paradigm-bitcoin-launches-pacts-a-quantum-proposal-that-could-let-satoshi-prove-he-is-still-alive\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T23:08:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T23:08:39","slug":"paradigm-bitcoin-launches-pacts-a-quantum-proposal-that-could-let-satoshi-prove-he-is-still-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/paradigm-bitcoin-launches-pacts-a-quantum-proposal-that-could-let-satoshi-prove-he-is-still-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"Paradigm Bitcoin launches PACTs, a quantum proposal that could let Satoshi prove he is still alive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-detail__content blocks\">\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">Paradigm Bitcoin general partner Dan Robinson published a proposal on May 1 for Provable Address-Control Timestamps, or PACTs, a system that lets dormant Bitcoin holders privately timestamp proof of key ownership before quantum computers arrive, creating a potential rescue path for Satoshi Nakamoto\u2019s estimated 1.1 million BTC.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cn-block-summary-block_599132c3c1d10475f1dbbf343d4743d8\" class=\"cn-block-summary\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__nav tabs\">\n        <span class=\"tabs__item is-selected\">Summary<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>PACTs use three steps: a secret salt, a BIP-322 ownership proof, and an OpenTimestamps commitment anchored on-chain, all without any public on-chain transaction.<\/li>\n<li>If Bitcoin later implements a quantum sunset soft fork, PACT holders can submit a STARK zero-knowledge proof to reclaim coins while keeping their keys hidden.<\/li>\n<li>Robinson wrote that Satoshi revealing keys in any forced migration would mean having to \u201ctell the world that they are alive and still in possession of their keys.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-summary --><\/p>\n<p>Robinson published PACTs on May 1, framing the design as a hedge against what he calls the Satoshi Problem inside Bitcoin\u2019s quantum threat discussion. The official Paradigm <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.paradigm.xyz\/2026\/05\/pacts-protecting-your-bitcoin-from-a-quantum-sunset\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">post<\/a> outlined the dilemma: if quantum computers arrive before Bitcoin adapts, old addresses with exposed public keys face theft.<\/p>\n<p> If Bitcoin rushes a sunset soft fork to freeze those addresses, dormant holders face a forced, public coin migration. PACTs offer a third path, letting holders timestamp proof of ownership silently in 2026 without doing anything further until a rescue mechanism is standardised.<\/p>\n<p>As crypto.news reported, approximately 1.7 million BTC remain in quantum-exposed address types, including Satoshi-linked wallets worth roughly $75 billion. <\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<p>The proposal builds on BIP-361, authored by Casa CSO Jameson Lopp, which defines a phased migration away from legacy signatures after which unmigrated coins would be frozen. <\/p>\n<p>Bitcoin.com <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/paradigm-researcher-proposes-pacts-to-shield-dormant-bitcoin-from-quantum-computing-risk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">noted<\/a> that Robinson acknowledged multisig, complex scripts, and hardware wallet support would all require further standardisation, and that Bitcoin may never implement a quantum sunset.<\/p>\n<p>As crypto.news documented, Bitcoin\u2019s quantum debate has been intensifying in 2026 after Blockstream CEO Adam Back argued at Paris Blockchain Week for optional, opt-in quantum-resistant upgrades rather than forced wallet freezes, directly challenging the BIP-361 approach PACTs are designed to complement. <\/p>\n<p>As crypto.news tracked, Naoris Protocol CEO David Carvalho warned that dormant wallets including Satoshi\u2019s would be \u201cripe for the picking\u201d once quantum computers reach sufficient capability, and that a quantum hack on Bitcoin \u201cwould lead to a real loss of trust\u201d in the asset.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paradigm Bitcoin general partner Dan Robinson published a proposal on May 1 for Provable Address-Control Timestamps, or PACTs, a system that lets dormant Bitcoin holders privately timestamp proof of key&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27521"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27522,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27521\/revisions\/27522"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}