Bitcoin stolen? There’s now software to freeze coins

The Bitcoin Association for BSV recently released software called the Blacklist Manager to freeze lost or stolen bitcoins, and Bitcoin developer Joshua Henslee released a video explaining how it works and what it means for Bitcoin SV.

The Bitcoin Association released freeze software

Henslee begins by explaining how the new node software will allow nodes to receive digitized, notarized court orders and freeze the associated addresses. This will allow them to freeze coins in addresses suspected of being associated with criminal activity.

Henslee acknowledges that seizing coins is a touchy topic in the industry. However, he notes that due to the sheer volume of scams in the industry, more people are coming around to the idea.

Prepare for the attacks

Henslee predicts that attacks on this move will soon come.

“They’re going to say this is just for these losers over here with their altcoin,” he says. Indeed, criticism of the move was almost instantaneous from some “crypto”-anarchists.

BSV have just implemented on-chain censorship. It's been a long-time coming, with support for freezing added to the client a year back. They have just released software for miners to run called "Blacklist Manager".
Next up will be asset reassignment 🤮https://t.co/rwubZcgKqO

— Bob Summerwill (@BobSummerwill) October 5, 2022

“You’re going to have the same clowns on Twitter that don’t believe this is technically possible even though the original (Bitcoin software) supported it,” Henslee says.

However, the reality is that many people have lost their coins due to hacks, theft, accidental loss, etc. He believes that when it is demonstrated that recovery is possible on BSV, someone will step forward to recover a substantial amount of BTC, and then the narrative will have to change.

This is really going to shatter the whole ‘not your keys, not your coins’ narrative – Joshua Henslee.

Henslee admits he is somewhat conflicted about this idea and has gone back and forth on it several times. He still likes the idea of uncensorable money because of things such as government corruption and overreach. Still, he believes the tradeoffs of having coins recoverable so as the tech succeeds are ultimately worth it.

“There are no solutions, only tradeoffs,” he muses.

Key takeaways from this video

• The Bitcoin Association has released software that allows nodes to freeze coins.
• This will allow them to comply with digital legal orders, such as freezing coins suspected of being associated with criminal activity.
• There will be resistance to this, especially from the usual suspects and “crypto”-anarchists.
• Ultimately, this will inspire some who have lost significant amounts of BTC to prove it can be done on that chain, too.
• Smart people will figure out this is coming and get ahead of it. In the end, it will ultimately be a good thing.

Watch: The BSV Global Blockchain Convention presentation, BSV Blockchain: A World of Good