The Quantum Issue: Bitcoin Quantum Exposure at Block 950,000
By Wicked
AI summary of the source article
An analysis at block 950,000 shows 6.90 million BTC, representing 34.45% of circulating supply, are cryptographically exposed to quantum threats due to public keys appearing on-chain. Practical theft risk is more concentrated than raw figures suggest. Active entities, including exchanges, brokers, and institutional multisig operators, hold 3.33 million exposed BTC and are likely equipped to coordinate wallet migrations before attacks become feasible. The core long-term risk resides in 2.28 million BTC across dormant, inactive, and never-spent balances, including Satoshi-attributed coins, where holders may be unable or unavailable to execute defensive migrations.
Why it matters
Evaluating quantum vulnerability by operational responsiveness rather than raw cryptographic exposure helps the digital asset industry differentiate between manageable coordination risk and irrecoverable dormant supply.
Key facts
- Raw cryptographic quantum exposure stands at 6,900,573 BTC, or 34.45% of circulating bitcoin supply at block 950,000.
- Active balances of at least 1 BTC account for 3,331,639 exposed BTC, held predominantly by operational entities like exchanges and custodians.
- Excluding active operational entities, dormant and inactive exposure of at least 1 BTC totals 2,277,978 BTC across 73,658 groups.