Opinion: If Bitcoin is cracked by quantum computers, OG will take over Satoshi's holdings.

On December 15th, intense discussions took place on social media last Saturday regarding the potential impact of “quantum computers possibly hacking Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin wallet and selling off their holdings.” The debate was sparked by a Bitcoin price chart shared by YouTuber Josh Otten, showing BTC plunging to $3. He stated that if a sufficiently powerful quantum computer were to succeed in stealing approximately 1 million BTC held by the anonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto and flooding the market with it, this scenario could indeed happen. In response, long-term Bitcoin holder Willy Woo said, “Many OGs (early Bitcoin holders) would buy during such a flash crash. The Bitcoin network would survive; most Bitcoin would not face immediate risk.” Woo further pointed out that about 4 million BTC are stored in P2PK (Pay-to-Public-Key) addresses, which includes Satoshi’s Bitcoin. These types of addresses reveal the full public key directly on the chain when spent, making them theoretically more vulnerable to quantum attacks. He added that once a Bitcoin wallet’s full public key is exposed on the chain, it could face quantum attack risks in the future—because, under the assumption of sufficient computing power, a quantum computer could theoretically derive the private key from the public key. In comparison, newer Bitcoin address types are less susceptible to quantum attacks because they do not reveal the full public key on the chain; if the public key is unknown, a quantum computer cannot generate the corresponding private key.