A controversial proposal to freeze older, dormant bitcoins to prevent them from being stolen by quantum computing attacks is generating a great deal of pushback, with several prominent sources suggesting alternatives. About 1.7 billion dormant bitcoins are locked using old encryption protocols that make them exceptionally vulnerable to theft by quantum computers, which will be powerful enough to break bitcoin’s…
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Virginia Will No Longer Sell Off Abandoned Crypto
Escheated tokens will be held in-kind for owners
Did you know that many states will seize your crypto if you leave it untouched for too long? It’s called escheat, and the same thing can happen to bank account balances and unspent gift card balances left untouched long enough to be considered abandoned. It’s not exactly expropriation, as the states generally hold escheated funds for consumers to claim. But…
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Deutsche Börse Group bets $200M on Kraken
German giant buys 1.5% of American crypto OG
Since its earliest days, Kraken has hewed more closely to the AnCap libertarian ethos of crypto than just about any other American fintech. San Franciscan Jesse Powell brought the company to life in summer 2011 and by 2013 it presented as an alternative to the friendly AOL style welcome mat of Coinbase. Now headed by Co-CEOs Dave Ripley and Arjun…
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Proposal Would Freeze Bitcoins to Protect Against Quantum Theft
Quantum computers could break bitcoin encryption
A new proposal from five prominent Bitcoin developers would freeze coins in order to protect them from attacks by quantum computers, which are expected to be strong enough to break Bitcoin’s encryption and allow the theft of dormant tokens. Some 1.7 billion dormant bitcoins are locked using old encryption protocols that make them exceptionally vulnerable to quantum theft. That includes…
