Again with the quantum computers FUD. People just don't get tired of it it seems. If quantum computers can hack bitcoin, they can hack pretty much everything. Bank accounts, forum accounts, social media accounts, email accounts... Pretty much everything. The whole civilization would collapse.
That's why such thing will never happen.
If such risk appears on the horizon, bitcoin will update its algo, banks will use some other encryption algo that's quantum-proof...
If they try to hack people's accounts without telling us that they hacked SHA256, then they will rot in jail. There is no doubt about it.
I think there has been some misunderstanding. I know quantum computers are a topic of the future, a distant or near whatever.. My point was that there are certain bitcoins that nobody can move to a safer wallet, and there are quite a lot, enough to cause chaos and doubt. I know my btc are safe, I know I’ll move them as soon as possible, but how about wallets with no or inactive owner. It seems to me that whatever the outcome is- bitcoin takes a hit to its reputation.
Letting US or whoever is the first to take over the bitcoin and move it to the new quantum resistant wallet - US essentialy controls that bitcoin - it didn’t belong to them
Locking the inactive old addresses - again you are taking bitcoin from somebody, dead, inactive, in coma. It doesn’t matter.
the list of solutions goes on..
Also I’m quite confused to why are you comparing bitcoin to central systems. They are not alike and they do not share the same problems. We cannot just migrate the whole network, it’s a game of whoever transfers their bitcoin to safer wallets are good, but what happens with the bitcoin that has not been transferred and is sitting in old addresses? I don’t know any plausible answer to this, it’s just a thought.