04-18-2026Price:

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BlackRock eyes freeze on Satoshi’s coins

Saturday, April 18, 2026 · from 2 podcasts
2 SOURCESRabbit Hole RecapBankless
  • BlackRock and Coinbase back a proposal to freeze old Bitcoin addresses, including Satoshi’s 1.7M BTC.
  • The move signals a push for institutional control over protocol upgrades.
  • Critics warn it breaks immutability, risking a chain split.

BlackRock and Coinbase are pushing to alter Bitcoin’s core rules. At OP Next, their representatives voiced support for BIP 361, a proposal to freeze legacy addresses ahead of quantum threats. The target: unspent coins from Bitcoin’s early years, including Satoshi Nakamoto’s untouched stash.

The argument centers on security. Marty Bent, co-host of Rabbit Hole Recap, said the institutions claim they want to protect the network from quantum theft. But the method - locking coins by default unless owners upgrade - would break Bitcoin’s principle of unchangeable ownership. "This is double-speak for stealing coins," Bent argued.

"They’re not preparing for quantum computing. They’re preparing for control."

- Matt Odell, Rabbit Hole Recap

Six weeks after Jameson Lopp floated freezing Satoshi’s coins to prevent quantum theft, BlackRock’s stance gives the idea institutional weight. But where Lopp framed it as defense, BlackRock’s backing suggests a different motive: a clean, auditable ledger that fits within regulated custody frameworks.

Meanwhile, Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy accelerates its Bitcoin bid through STRC, a preferred equity paying 11.5% dividends. The product has pulled in $2.7 billion in two weeks, funding aggressive accumulation. Van Spencer notes Saylor is on pace to buy 600,000 BTC this year - making MicroStrategy a de facto permanent bid.

"Every dollar of STRC issued eats into MSTR’s equity. This isn’t innovation - it’s financial engineering."

- Nick Carter, Bankless

The tension is clear. One faction wants Bitcoin to remain an immutable, decentralized store of value. The other wants it shaped for institutional adoption - even if that means rewriting the past.

ProtocolRegulationNation-State
Matt OdellMichael SaylorBlackRockCoinbaseMicroStrategyBitcoin

Source Intelligence

- Deep dive into what was said in the episodes

Rabbit Hole Recap
Rabbit Hole Recap

RABBIT HOLE RECAP #405: STRETCH YOUR CHEEKS FOR THE BITCOIN BULL • Apr 17

  • MicroStrategy's STRiPS currently trades at a slight discount, priced at $99.21 against its $100 par value, with a market cap of roughly $6.37 billion. Matt notes the product's dividend rate has climbed from its initial 9% to about 11.5%.
  • Michael Saylor proposed making STRiPS dividend payments semi-monthly instead of monthly, a change that would need shareholder approval. The hosts speculate this could smooth out the buying pressure around dividend dates.
  • At the OP_NEXT conference, institutional panelists from Coinbase and BlackRock expressed concern that investor uncertainty around Bitcoin's quantum resistance could limit capital inflows, a claim Marty finds ironic given Bitcoin's recent price surge.
  • Matt expresses a tinfoil-hat view that pressure for a quantum-related protocol change could be used to disenfranchise open-source developers and split the community, with institutions likely to push a fork that freezes legacy coins under the guise of an upgrade.
  • Odell highlights a new 'quantum-safe Bitcoin' proposal that uses existing consensus rules, requiring about $200 of GPU compute to create a safe address but making transactions non-standard. He likes that it provides an opt-in path without a soft fork.
  • Marty points out that Satoshi chose the libsecp256k1 cryptographic library because it lacked hard-coded constants that could hide a backdoor, arguing that blindly following NIST-approved standards for quantum resistance could introduce new vulnerabilities.
Also from this episode: (6)

Markets (2)

  • MicroStrategy raised roughly $2.1 billion via STRiPS this week, which Zach notes could be used to buy about 27,200 Bitcoin at current prices.
  • Matt argues the risk in STRiPS is layered and underappreciated, involving DeFi protocols, other public companies using it as a treasury asset, and the potential for a negative feedback loop if Bitcoin's price falls and MicroStrategy must sell shares to fund dividends.

Adoption (1)

  • Seth and Marty made a bet on whether MicroStrategy will hold over or under 1 million Bitcoin by June 15th, with Seth taking the under and Marty taking the over. MicroStrategy currently holds about 780,000 Bitcoin.

BTC Markets (1)

  • Arthur Hayes stated in an interview that over 90% of his net worth is in Bitcoin, leading the hosts to conclude many prominent 'shitcoiners' are actually Bitcoin maximalists using altcoins to accumulate more Bitcoin.

Custody (1)

  • Zach from BPI notes Tether's new self-custodial wallet is chain-agnostic and offers first-class Bitcoin and Lightning support, which he sees as a pragmatic step to onboard Tether users to Bitcoin.

Iran (1)

  • The Human Rights Foundation reported Iran's regime has ordered the seizure of assets from over 100 citizens abroad amid an internet blackout exceeding 43 days, a situation Zach argues makes Bitcoin the ideal tool for moving value without trust.
BTC MarketsProtocolETFsAdoption
Bankless
Bankless

ROLLUP: Markets at ATHs | Saylor’s STRC Bid | Trump DeFi Scandal | SEC Clears DeFi • Apr 17

Also from this episode: (13)

Other (13)

  • The S&P 500 reached new all-time highs this week, rebounding from a 9.67% drop in the past 10 days, erasing the entire Iran war sell-off. NASDAQ also hit new all-time highs.
  • The market recovery follows de-escalation in the Iran conflict, including a maintained ceasefire despite failed negotiations. The US also blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, shifting oil demand to American exports.
  • US oil exports hit all-time highs as Middle Eastern oil demand rerouted, contributing to a perceived domestic economic boom. Oil prices, while still elevated from pre-war levels, are on the lower end of wartime pricing.
  • The US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz places immense economic pressure on Iran, impacting 90% of its $110 billion annual trade, 80% of government export earnings, and 24% of its GDP.
  • Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy product, STRC, has become a dominant instrument, representing over 40% of the firm's preferred stock market cap and enabling continuous Bitcoin purchases. Its current trading volume nearly equals MicroStrategy's common equity.
  • Coffeezilla criticizes STRC, arguing it's marketed as a risk-free money market with 11.5% interest, but it's a stock with no obligation to repay principal, creating an unsustainable yield snowball.
  • Bitmine, led by Tom Lee, has accumulated 4.1% of Ethereum's total supply, staking 60% of it, and generates $250-300 million annually from staking rewards. Bitmine has taken the lead in the Ethereum accumulation race, outperforming competitors like Sharplink and Sbet.
  • World Liberty Financial (WFLI), a Trump family DeFi project, borrowed $150 million in USDC from Dolomite by minting and collateralizing $400 million in WFLI tokens with zero cost basis, resembling an FTX-style 'rug pull.'
  • Justin Sun, an early investor in World Liberty Financial, had $9 million of his WFLI tokens frozen by the project. The project claims this is 'FUD' and that the tokens are not near liquidation.
  • The SEC, under Paul Atkins, provided guidance that DeFi interfaces are not broker-dealers if they route transactions fairly and neutrally without making opinionated choices. This gives clarity to projects like Uniswap, SushiSwap, MetaMask, and Phantom.
  • Bitcoin community member Jameson Lop proposed BIP 361 to address the quantum threat, phasing in restrictions over five years. It would first prevent new funds from being sent to 7.1 million quantum-vulnerable Bitcoin addresses, then freeze existing coins, forcing users to move funds to quantum-safe addresses.
  • Incoming Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh's financial disclosure revealed holdings in over 30 crypto projects, including Compound, DYDX, and Solana, despite not holding Bitcoin or Ether directly.
  • The rebranding of defunct shoe company Allbirds to 'New Bird AI' and its 450% stock price surge, pivoting to GPU rentals, serves as a 'bubble indicator,' reminiscent of the Long Island Ice Tea blockchain rebrand of 2017.
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