Cardano Founder Mocks Blockstream Conservative Quantum Strategy, Says ‘Never Change Bitcoin’

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has criticized Blockstream for favoring a conservative upgrade path in Bitcoin’s push to address quantum threats. 

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His remarks came in response to proposals supported by Blockstream co-founder Adam Back and Director of Research Jonas Nick. Notably, they both advocated hash-based post-quantum signature schemes, such as SHRINCS and SHRIMPS, as a promising solution.

Key Points

• Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson criticized Adam Back for supporting conservative upgrade paths to address quantum threats in Bitcoin.
• His criticism targets a proposed hash-based post-quantum signature scheme, such as SHRINCS and SHRIMPS, as a promising solution.
• Beyond Bitcoin, the broader crypto industry, including Ethereum and XRP, is actively debating quantum risks to existing cryptography.
• Estimates suggest roughly 1.7 million BTC in early wallets could be vulnerable, prompting proposals such as BIP-361, led by Jameson Lopp.

Blockstream Proposes Solution to Addressing Bitcoin Post-Quantum Risks

For context, at the OPNEXT 2026 Bitcoin scaling conference, Jonas Nick presented a case for adopting hash-based post-quantum signatures, including SHRINCS and SHRIMPS, as a viable upgrade path for Bitcoin.

He framed the challenge as navigating a complex design space shaped by tradeoffs among efficiency, security assumptions, and protocol complexity.

First, his proposal introduces statefulness, adding a new design dimension that enables more efficient signature schemes. Second, it embraces targeted trade-offs, in which a modest increase in protocol complexity can deliver significant performance gains.

Moreover, the framework avoids new cryptographic assumptions by relying on well-established hash functions, which are widely understood and easier to implement securely.

Director of @blksresearch, @n1ckler, explains the case for hash-based post-quantum signatures in Bitcoin in one minute: https://t.co/ToXYgcLjtC pic.twitter.com/K1NWKMRoOr

— Blockstream (@Blockstream) April 20, 2026

Cardano Founder Mocks Blockstream Proposal

However, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson pushed back, mocking the approach as an attempt to solve Bitcoin’s quantum challenge with the least expressive post-quantum signatures.

Notably, the commentary highlights the functional limitations of hash-based systems, which are primarily suited for secure transaction signing and offer limited flexibility beyond that role.

In contrast, he argued that more expressive cryptographic systems can support richer programmability and more complex validation logic. From his perspective, Bitcoin is choosing a minimalist solution over a more versatile and forward-looking alternative.

“Never Change Bitcoin”

Moreover, Hoskinson broadened his critique by invoking Bitcoin’s conservative development culture, summed up in his remark, “Never Change Bitcoin.”

The comment highlights Bitcoin’s focus on stability and predictability, even if it means avoiding more advanced innovations.

Lol, let's use the least expressive and interesting PQS to solve the quantum issue. Never change Bitcoin https://t.co/2mcytWyb12

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) April 21, 2026

Efforts Toward Addressing Quantum Risks Accelerate

Meanwhile, the wider crypto industry continues to debate the risks posed by advanced quantum computing to major networks like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP.

Recent research from Google indicates that future quantum machines may require less computational power than previously expected to exploit current cryptographic systems.

Specifically, researchers estimate that roughly 1.7 million Bitcoin held in early Pay-to-Public-Key (P2PK) wallets could be vulnerable to quantum attacks. In response, Jameson Lopp and other developers recently introduced BIP-361, a proposal to strengthen Bitcoin’s defenses against potential quantum-era threats.