Open Letter to Satoshi Nakamoto

Source: thetokendispatc

Compilation: Vernacular Blockchain

Dear Satoshi Nakamoto,

Since you disappeared from the digital world 15 years ago, you left behind the biggest mystery in finance: hundreds of thousands, perhaps over a million bitcoins, still 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 write this letter not to inquire who you are or where you went. I write because your Bitcoin is about to become the ultimate test case for digital “resurrection,” and the outcome may not be what you wish.

Neighbors of the Digital Graveyard

Satoshi Nakamoto, you are not the only one in the “afterlife” of cryptocurrency. It is conservatively 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( spent ten years searching for his 8000 bitcoins in 110,000 tons of waste in Wales. Stefan Thomas) has only two attempts left to try the password, or he will permanently lose access to 7002 bitcoins.

There is also hardware graveyards. Hard drives crash, USB drives are lost, and computers are discarded. The Parity wallet vulnerability in 2017 unexpectedly 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 the most infamous theft incident in the history of trading platforms.

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

Others have lost their bitcoins due to negligence or disaster, while you chose to let them lie dormant. Every day you don’t move them, the world debates whether you have passed away, are in captivity, or are secretly observing your creation.

Quantum Tomb Raider is Coming Soon

Satoshi Nakamoto, I have to tell you something that might make you uneasy: Your Bitcoin is in danger.

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

The creator of Bitcoin may become one of the most notable 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 crafting the armor needed for your creation. However, as of June 2025, there is still no formal BIP proposal for widely adopted quantum-resistant addresses.

If a quantum computer cracks your address, the Bitcoin community will be powerless, and you know this all too 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 transfer them to a secure address or a quantum computer “transfers” them for you.

Modern inheritance technologies could prevent most Bitcoin losses, but they cannot resurrect existing digital “corpses.” Platforms like Sarcophagus offer “dead man’s switch” that can release wallet information to beneficiaries. Casa provides multi-signature inheritance planning.

But these solutions require advance planning. They cannot retroactively recover the already lost bitcoins. For the millions of bitcoins that are already in the digital grave, inheritance technology cannot provide redemption.

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

Legal Mining Attempt?

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 unlock his IronKey encryption.

The law recognizes Bitcoin as property, but there is no property without keys that amounts to inaccessible property worldwide. 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 Bitcoin. This is the ultimate identity verification.

Economic Earthquake

Satoshi Nakamoto, your dormant Bitcoin is not just digital archaeology.

Lost bitcoins have created an artificial scarcity. With about 1 million bitcoins along with millions of others that are permanently lost, the actual supply of bitcoins is lower than 21 million. This scarcity supports the higher prices of the remaining bitcoins.

If your Bitcoin suddenly returns to circulation—through quantum recovery, legal procedures, or your own return—it will trigger a massive supply shock.

Yes, moving your Bitcoin technically does not increase the supply, as they have already existed on the ledger. However, moving Bitcoin that has been dormant for 15 years will trigger massive psychological and market shocks.

The narrative of Bitcoin’s scarcity relies on the assumption that “lost bitcoins will be lost forever.” Your “revival” will fundamentally change investors’ perceptions of Bitcoin’s long-term value.

Despite various “resurrection” avenues, the most likely outcome is that your Bitcoin will remain as it is: visible on the blockchain, but forever inactive.

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 crypto commitment and the mystery of digital identity.

Moving them will answer questions that the community may be reluctant to know. Keeping them dormant preserves the myth 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 observing, you may have five years until quantum computers become a real threat. You can transfer Bitcoin to a quantum-resistant address to prove you are still active without exposing your identity.

If you are no longer in this world, your Bitcoin will face an uncertain fate. Quantum thieves, community destruction, or eternal dormancy - none of these are your choices.

If “Satoshi Nakamoto” was never a single person, but rather a collective or organization, then these bitcoins were perhaps intended to be permanently untouchable—this is the ultimate demonstration of Bitcoin’s deflationary property.

The Bitcoin community is discussing whether to destroy your Bitcoins or protect them, but without your intention, they cannot decide. Are you an individual with digital property rights, or is the asset a pseudonym that has become public property?

Your Bitcoin is the greatest governance test for Bitcoin. Not because they are vulnerable to quantum attacks, which is a solvable issue. But because your mysterious absence forces the community to decide Bitcoin’s accountability to absent creators, 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’s time to say something.

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