Bitcoin maximalists: Freezing dormant Bitcoin will trigger the most severe single-day revaluation in history

CryptoWorld News reports that, according to CoinDesk, Bitcoin maximalists say that freezing dormant Bitcoin (currently priced at approximately $77,913.80) will trigger an immediate revaluation and mark one of the worst trading days for this oldest global cryptocurrency since it was introduced in 2009. Bitcoin developers and participants in the crypto industry have been debating for weeks whether they should freeze dormant tokens to protect them from the risk of theft via quantum computing. Maximalist Samuel “Chad” Patt noted that freezing any tokens, even “lost” ones, sends the message to the market that the approximately 19.8 million Bitcoins in circulation are conditionally owned. Market analyst Jason Fernandes believes that a successful quantum attack would trigger an even more severe revaluation. The discussion centers on how to address the potential threat that quantum computing poses to the Bitcoin network—especially the roughly 5.6 million Bitcoins stored in wallets that have not been upgraded for more than ten years, which are most vulnerable to attack. Core Bitcoin developer Jameson Lopp said that he would rather see these dormant Bitcoins, worth about $440 billion, frozen by the network than have them face the risk of being stolen by future quantum hackers.