Subject: Re: [bitcoindev] [BIP Proposal] Proof-of-Activity Reclamation (PoAR)

From: Lucas Barbosa <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2025 16:07:59 -0300

This type of proposal, is fundamentally incompatible with Bitcoin's ethos
for several reasons.

1. Sovereignty and Immutability of Property
In Bitcoin, ownership of a coin is guaranteed exclusively by possession of
the corresponding private key. The idea that funds can be "reclaimed" or
"recycled" after a period of inactivity amounts to automated confiscation,
albeit disguised as economic efficiency. This undermines trust in the
inviolability of property—something sacred to long-term users.

2. The 21 Million Rule is Inviolable, but the Supply is also Deterministic
Although the proposal claims to respect the 21 million cap, it alters the
nature of supply distribution. The fact that UTXOs are lost is part of the
economic reality of BTC—the actual circulating supply is lower than the
theoretical one, and this is priced in. Attempting to "correct" this is a
form of monetary intervention without legitimate authority in the system.

3. Perverse Precedent and Attack on Finality
Allowing a UTXO to be reused after N years sets a very dangerous precedent:
ownership of BTC is no longer absolute and becomes conditional on activity.
This directly attacks the finality of transactions and the ledger—one of
the pillars of the system.

4. Negative Impact on Long-Term Trust
People who store BTC for the future—whether for decades, for reasons of
inheritance, security, or trust in the network—would lose the guarantee
that their BTC will remain untouched. This reduces Bitcoin's perceived
value as a solid and reliable store of value.

5. This Has Already Been Considered and Rejected
Similar proposals (such as coin expiry or reclaimable outputs) have been
discussed in the past, and the Bitcoin community has consistently rejected
them based on the above principles.

Em ter., 15 de jul. de 2025, 15:26, 'Donald Dienst' via Bitcoin Development
Mailing List <[email-masked]> escreveu:

> Dear Bitcoin developers,
>
> I would like to propose a new BIP titled "Proof-of-Activity Reclamation
> (PoAR)," which aims to address the long-term economic effects of lost and
> abandoned UTXOs.
>
> This proposal introduces a fully automated and rule-based mechanism to
> gradually recycle coins that have been provably inactive for over 20 years.
> These coins are returned to the undistributed pool and slowly reintroduced
> via future block rewards—extending miner incentives while respecting the 21
> million BTC cap.
>
> You can view the full proposal here:
> https://gist.github.com/Brandchatz/56c39d289db9e56190c13922850815b8
>
> I welcome your thoughts, suggestions, and critiques.
>
> Best regards,
> Donald Dienst
> [email-masked]
>
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