Source: thetokendispatch
Translated by: Blockchain in Plain Language
Dear Satoshi Nakamoto,
Since you disappeared from the digital world 15 years ago, leaving behind the biggest mystery in finance: hundreds of thousands, perhaps over a million Bitcoins, untouched and unused to this day.
These Bitcoins are worth a fortune and are considered by many to be the world's largest unclaimed digital inheritance.
I write this letter not to inquire who you are or where you went. I write 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 Nakamoto, you are not the only one in the 'afterlife' of cryptocurrency. It is estimated that 3 to 4 million Bitcoins are permanently trapped in digital graves. Forgotten keys, broken hard drives, and those who took secrets to the real grave.
James Howells has spent a decade searching for his 8,000 Bitcoins in 110,000 tons of trash in Wales. Stefan Thomas has only two password attempts left, or he will lose access to 7,002 Bitcoins forever.
There are hardware graveyards as well. Hard drives crash, USB drives get 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 Mt. Gox left 850,000 Bitcoins still contested by creditors, marking the most famous exchange theft in history.
But your approximately 1 million Bitcoins far exceed all of these. This is the ultimate digital tomb frozen since the inception of Bitcoin.
Others lost their Bitcoins through 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, are in captivity, or are secretly observing your creation.
Quantum grave robbers are coming soon.
Satoshi Nakamoto, I must tell you something that may unsettle you: your Bitcoins are in danger.
Quantum computers could crack them within 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 may 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. The team is exploring the reactivation of OP_CAT and the integration of STARK technology. They are building the armor needed for your creation. However, as of June 2025, there is no formal BIP proposal for widely adopted quantum-resistant addresses.
If quantum computers crack your address, the Bitcoin community will be powerless, and you know this well. There is no emergency button, no admin key, and no way to freeze or destroy Bitcoin. Your Bitcoin will remain in a quantum vulnerable state until you move them to a secure address, or until a quantum computer 'moves' them for you.
Modern inheritance technology could have prevented most Bitcoins from being lost, but it 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 planning ahead. They cannot retroactively recover Bitcoins that have already been lost. For the millions of Bitcoins already in digital graves, inheritance technology cannot provide redemption.
Your situation is unique. Your Bitcoin is not strictly lost, but rather in a dormant state. If you are still alive and have access, you can move them at any time. This uncertainty makes your Bitcoin the most psychologically significant asset in existence.
Legal digging attempts?
Courts are largely powerless when faced with 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 Bitcoin as property, but property without keys 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 Nakamoto, your dormant Bitcoins are not just digital archaeology.
Lost Bitcoins create an artificial scarcity. Your approximately 1 million Bitcoins, plus millions more permanently lost, effectively make the supply of Bitcoin less than 21 million. This scarcity supports higher prices for the remaining Bitcoins.
If your Bitcoin suddenly re-enters circulation—through quantum recovery, legal proceedings, or your own return—it will trigger a massive supply shock.
Yes, moving your Bitcoins technically does not increase the supply; they already exist on the ledger. But moving Bitcoins dormant for 15 years would trigger a significant psychological and market shock.
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 paths to 'resurrection,' 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, death, or loss of access, your Bitcoin has become the most powerful symbol of Bitcoin. They represent the permanence of cryptographic commitment and the mystery of digital identity.
Moving them would answer questions the community may not want to know. Keeping them dormant retains the mythos that makes Bitcoin transcend ordinary payment systems.
Your choice, Satoshi Nakamoto
So, I want to ask: what do you plan to do?
If you are still alive and watching, you may have five years until quantum computers become a real threat. You can transfer Bitcoin to quantum-resistant addresses, proving you are still active without revealing your identity.
If you have passed away, your Bitcoins will face an uncertain fate. Quantum thieves, community destruction, or eternal dormancy—none of these are your choice.
If 'Satoshi Nakamoto' was never a person but a collective or institution, then perhaps these Bitcoins were always meant to be permanently untouchable—this is the ultimate showcase of Bitcoin's deflationary property.
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 public property?
Your Bitcoin represents the biggest governance test for Bitcoin. Not because they are vulnerable to quantum attacks, which is a solvable problem. But because your mysterious absence compels the community to decide Bitcoin's responsibility to an 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.
