EU financial watchdogs warn quantum computing poses imminent threat to blockchain encryption
The warning brings renewed urgency to the debate over how bitcoin should deal with legacy addresses whose public keys are already exposed onchain.
Make preferred on
Compartir este artículo
Resumen
- European financial regulators warned that advanced quantum computers could eventually break cryptography protecting blockchains, potentially putting about 6.9 million Bitcoin, worth roughly $586 billion, at risk.
- Older or reused Bitcoin addresses are especially vulnerable because their public keys may already be visible on the blockchain, allowing a sufficiently powerful quantum computer to derive their private keys.
- Bitcoin’s shift to quantum-resistant security would require networkwide consensus and the transfer of exposed coins, while the European Commission has urged member states to begin post-quantum transitions by the end of 2026.
