About the Fate of His Fragile Wealth

Written by: Thejaswini

Translated by: Baihua Blockchain

Dear Satoshi Nakamoto,

Since you disappeared from the digital world 15 years ago, you have left behind the greatest mystery in finance: hundreds of thousands, perhaps over a million bitcoins, that remain untouched and unused to this day.

These bitcoins are worth a fortune and are considered by many to be the largest unclaimed digital inheritance in the world.

I am writing this letter not to inquire about who you are or where you have gone. I am writing because your bitcoins are about to become the ultimate test case for digital "resurrection," and the outcome may not be what you desire.

Neighbors of the Digital Graveyard

Satoshi, you are not the only one in the "afterlife" of cryptocurrency. It is estimated that between 3 to 4 million bitcoins have permanently fallen into digital graves. Forgotten keys, damaged hard drives, and those who took their secrets to the real grave.

James Howells has spent a decade searching through 110,000 tons of garbage in Wales for his 8,000 bitcoins. Stefan Thomas has only two password attempts left, or he will lose access to 7,002 bitcoins forever.

There are also hardware graveyards. Hard drives crash, USB drives are lost, computers are discarded. The Parity wallet bug in 2017 accidentally froze over 500,000 ETH, demonstrating how software errors can instantly create digital tombs. The collapse of the Mt. Gox exchange left 850,000 bitcoins still contested by creditors, marking one of the most famous thefts in trading history.

But your approximately 1 million bitcoins far exceed all of these. This is the ultimate digital tomb that has been frozen since the inception of bitcoin.

Others have lost their bitcoins due to negligence or disaster, while you chose to let them sleep. Every day you do not move them, the world debates whether you have passed away, been imprisoned, or are secretly observing your creation.

Quantum Grave Robbers Are Coming

Satoshi, I must tell you something that may disturb you: your bitcoins are in danger.

Quantum computers may be able to crack them in a few years, or even sooner. Experts estimate that 25% of bitcoins—over 4 million—are stored in quantum-vulnerable addresses. Your bitcoins are among the most exposed.

The creator of bitcoin could become one of the most prominent victims of quantum computing in the cryptocurrency space.

While you remain silent, the bitcoin development community is racing against time to build quantum defenses. BIP-360 proposes quantum-resistant addresses. Teams are exploring reactivating OP_CAT and integrating STARK technology. They are crafting the armor needed for your creation. However, as of June 2025, there is still no widely adopted formal BIP proposal for quantum-resistant addresses.

If quantum computers crack your address, the bitcoin community will be powerless, and you know this. There is no emergency button, no admin key, no way to freeze or destroy bitcoins. Your bitcoins will remain in a quantum-vulnerable state until you transfer them to a secure address, or until quantum computers "transfer" them for you.

Modern inheritance technology could have prevented most bitcoins from being lost, but they cannot resurrect existing digital "corpses." Platforms like Sarcophagus offer "dead man's switches" to release wallet information to beneficiaries. Casa provides multi-signature inheritance planning.

But these solutions require advance planning. They cannot retroactively recover bitcoins that have already been lost. For the millions of bitcoins already in digital graves, inheritance technology offers no redemption.

Your situation is unique. Your bitcoins are not strictly lost; they are merely in a dormant state. If you are still alive and have access, you can move them at any time. This uncertainty makes your bitcoins the most psychologically significant asset in existence.

Legal Excavation Attempts?

Courts are mostly powerless in the face of the finality of cryptographic technology. James Howells' £600 million claim against Newport City Council was dismissed. Stefan Thomas cannot force anyone to crack his IronKey encryption.

The law recognizes bitcoins as property, but there is no property without keys that is equivalent to inaccessible property. Courts can issue many orders, but they cannot command mathematics to yield.

However, your case is different. If someone claims to be you or your heir, they need to prove their identity by moving your bitcoins. This is the ultimate identity verification.

Economic Earthquake

Satoshi, your dormant bitcoins are not just digital archaeology.

Lost bitcoins create artificial scarcity. Your approximately 1 million bitcoins, along with millions of others that are permanently lost, effectively reduce the supply of bitcoins below 21 million. This scarcity supports higher prices for the remaining bitcoins.

If your bitcoins suddenly returned to circulation—through quantum recovery, legal proceedings, or your own return—it would trigger a massive supply shock.

Yes, moving your bitcoins technically does not increase the supply; they have long existed on the ledger. But moving bitcoins that have been dormant for 15 years would cause significant psychological and market upheaval.

The narrative of bitcoin's scarcity partly relies on the assumption that "lost bitcoins will be lost forever." Your "resurrection" would fundamentally change investors' perceptions of bitcoin's long-term value.

Despite various "resurrection" pathways, the most likely outcome is that your bitcoins will remain as they are: visible on the blockchain but forever unmoved.

Whether due to your choice, passing, or loss of access, your bitcoins have become the most powerful symbol of bitcoin. They represent the permanence of the promise of cryptocurrency and the mystery of digital identity.

Your Choice, Satoshi

So, I want to ask: what do you intend to do?

If you are still alive and observing, you may have five years until quantum computers become a real threat. You could transfer the bitcoins to quantum-resistant addresses, proving you are still active without revealing your identity.

If you are no longer with us, your bitcoins will face an uncertain fate. Quantum thieves, community destruction, or eternal dormancy—none of these are your choices.

If "Satoshi Nakamoto" was never a person but rather a collective or institution, then these bitcoins may have been intended to be permanently untouchable—this is the ultimate demonstration of bitcoin's deflationary nature.

The bitcoin community is debating whether to destroy your bitcoins or protect them, but without your intent, they cannot decide. Are you an individual with digital property rights, or is your asset now a public property pseudonym?

Your bitcoins are the greatest governance test for bitcoin. Not because they are vulnerable to quantum attack, a solvable issue. But because your mysterious absence forces the community to decide bitcoin's responsibility to the absent creator and whether true decentralization means letting mathematics take its course, even if it involves your wealth.

Quantum computers are coming. Grave robbers are preparing. The community is watching.

After 15 years of silence, perhaps it is time to say something.

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