El Salvador has redistributed its Bitcoin reserve holdings into 14 new wallet addresses as a precaution against potential quantum computing threats.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy splitting funds into smaller amounts, the impact of a potential quantum attack is minimized,\u201d El Salvador\u2019s Bitcoin Office said<\/a> in an X post Friday, adding that each Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) address holds up to 500 BTC.<\/p>\n The Bitcoin Office explained that once funds are spent from a Bitcoin address, its public keys are revealed and vulnerable \u2014 making it a target for quantum computers to crack \u2014 should the technology evolve into a significant threat in the future.<\/p>\n More than 6 million Bitcoin \u2014 worth around $650 billion \u2014 could be at risk<\/a> if quantum computers become powerful enough to crack elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) keys, quantum research company Project Eleven<\/a> said in April.<\/p>\n El Salvador previously held its 6,274 Bitcoin stash (worth $678 million) in a single address, but blockchain data shows those funds were transferred into 14 new addresses on Friday.<\/p>\n While El Salvador\u2019s move was praised by industry pundits, Project Eleven noted that quantum computing is still far away from being capable of hacking Bitcoin. A Bitcoin private key<\/a> contains 256-bits, and no quantum computer running Shor\u2019s algorithm has managed to even crack a 3-bit key yet.<\/p>\n Michael Saylor, the architect behind Strategy\u2019s Bitcoin playbook, said quantum computing\u2019s threat to Bitcoin is mere hype<\/a> in June, adding that if it ever became a serious issue, the protocol\u2019s core developers and hardware manufacturers would implement fixes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe answer is: Bitcoin network hardware upgrade, Bitcoin network software upgrade, just like [how] Microsoft, Google, the US government upgrade.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n El Salvador\u2019s Bitcoin buys have been called into question after an International Monetary Fund report in July claimed that the Central American country has not made any new Bitcoin purchases<\/a> since February.<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong><\/em>El Salvador\u2019s Bukele reacts as $1B Bitcoin holdings bet increases on Kalshi<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n The country\u2019s Bitcoin Office hasn\u2019t directly addressed the claims and has continued to post about its Bitcoin purchases on X. <\/p>\nOnchain transfers have been made<\/h2>\n
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nQuantum isn\u2019t a worry, for now<\/h2>\n
El Salvador still entangled in IMF drama<\/h2>\n