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So then if Satoshi destroyed the private keys instead holding on to them just in case for an event like this, it's possible that someone might take the million

So then if Satoshi destroyed the private keys instead holding on to them just in case for an event like this, it's possible that someone might take the million or so BTC just sitting around? Depending on how easy it is, all those addresses that were abandoned containing 50 BTC are also up for grabs. Would a coin without public addresses be better suited against such future?

DennisP 7y ago
Not if Satoshi's coins have never moved. A bitcoin address is a hash of a public key. The public key isn't revealed until the first time funds are transferred out of that address.
- RandomBacon 7y ago
  Okay, thanks!
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- esotericn 7y ago
  Nitpick: What you're calling "Satoshi's coins" were actually mined in transactions to pubkeys rather than to pubkey hashes. Early Bitcoin transactions did not use addresses. Example from block 1: https://www.blockchain.com/btc/tx/0e3e2357e806b6cdb1f70b54c3a3a17b6714ee1f0e68bebb44a74b1efd512098 https://www.blockchain.com/btc/tx/0e3e2357e806b6cdb1f70b54c3... You'll see at the bottom that the opcode is a PUSH / CHECKSIG rather than the later DUP / HASH160 / PUSH / EQUALVERIFY / CHECKSIG format. So this isn't true. (blockchain.info derives an address but actually the pubkeys are right there in plain sight. Have at it!)
  - DennisP 7y ago
    Thanks, I had no idea!