Bitcoin · Decrypt
Nearly $500 billion in Bitcoin Is Exposed to Future Quantum Computing Attacks: Glassnode
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Nearly one-third of all Bitcoin in circulation—over 6 million coins worth over $469 billion as of this writing—is already vulnerable to theft if powerful quantum computers become a reality, according to research published Wednesday by blockchain analytics firm Glassnode.
Key facts
- Within the operationally unsafe bucket, 1.66 million BTC, or 8.3% of the total supply, is exchange-related—representing approximately 40% of all operationally unsafe Bitcoin
- The analysis, which examines the Bitcoin blockchain to determine which coins have already had their public cryptographic keys exposed, found that 6.04 million BTC, or 30.2% of the issued supply
- Structural exposure accounts for 1.92 million BTC, or 9.6% of the issued supply
- Operational exposure totals 4.12 million BTC, or 20.6% of the issued supply
Summary
More than 30% of all Bitcoin already has its public key exposed on-chain, making it theoretically vulnerable to a future quantum computer attack. The exposure breaks into two types: structural from script designs that reveal keys by default, and operational from address-reuse behavior. Exchanges account for roughly 40% of operationally exposed Bitcoin, though the risk varies widely by platform and can be reduced through better wallet hygiene. The analysis, which examines the Bitcoin blockchain to determine which coins have already had their public cryptographic keys exposed, found that 6.04 million BTC, or 30.2% of the issued supply, is exposed to quantum risk, while the remaining 13.99 million BTC shows no public-key exposure.