{"id":428027,"date":"2026-05-22T12:42:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/nearly-500b-in-bitcoin-is-exposed-to-future-quantum-computing-attacks-glassnode-crypto-news\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T13:57:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:27:11","slug":"nearly-500b-in-bitcoin-is-exposed-to-future-quantum-computing-attacks-glassnode-crypto-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/nearly-500b-in-bitcoin-is-exposed-to-future-quantum-computing-attacks-glassnode-crypto-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Nearly $500B in Bitcoin Is Exposed to Future Quantum Computing Attacks: Glassnode &#8211; Crypto News"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"position:relative;overflow:visible;font-size:1.2em;line-height:1.58\">\n<div class=\"pt-8 pb-10 border-t border-b border-decryptGridline \">\n<h4 class=\"sc-b2a202e4-4 bNRGqr gg-dark:text-white\" color=\"#333\">In brief<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"font-meta-serif-pro font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">More than 30% of all Bitcoin already has its public key exposed on-chain, making it theoretically vulnerable to a future quantum computer attack.<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-meta-serif-pro font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">The exposure breaks into two types: structural from script designs that reveal keys by default, and operational from address-reuse behavior.<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-meta-serif-pro font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\">Exchanges account for roughly 40% of operationally exposed Bitcoin, though the risk varies widely by platform and can be reduced through better wallet hygiene.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: The Decrypt News roundup with TylerD - May 20th\" style=\"border-radius:12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/3GwerTHhBTkAoXc5zTONE2?si=BDLR-9e6QqyvvgSotvJGzw&#038;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Nearly one-third of all <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/resources\/what-is-bitcoin-four-minute-instant-guide-explainer\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">Bitcoin<\/a> in circulation\u2014over 6 million coins worth over $469 billion as of this writing\u2014is already vulnerable to theft if powerful quantum computers become a reality, according to <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/insights.glassnode.com\/measuring-bitcoins-quantum-exposed-supply\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">research<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> published Wednesday by blockchain analytics firm Glassnode.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">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 <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/resources\/what-q-day-quantum-threat-bitcoin-explained\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">exposed to quantum risk<\/a>, while the remaining 13.99 million BTC shows no public-key exposure. The estimate of exposed coins is lower than some existing figures, which have ranged <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/367047\/bitcoin-ethereum-q-day-quantum-threat-could-arrive-2030\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">closer to 7 million BTC<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The concern stems from the architecture underlying Bitcoin&#8217;s security. Each coin is controlled by a private key, matched to a public key visible on the blockchain only under certain conditions. The quantum concern is that a sufficiently capable quantum computer, using an algorithm known as Shor&#8217;s algorithm, could in principle recover a private key from a known public key.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">In that scenario, any coin whose public key has already been revealed on-chain would be immediately targetable\u2014no transaction required.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border:0\" src=\"https:\/\/myriad.markets\/embed\/market\/btc-next-move-pump-to-84k-or-dump-to-55k-3d262902-135d-416e-90bc-8e80233f341e\" width=\"100%\" height=\"415px\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"width:0px;overflow:hidden;line-height:0\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Glassnode separates the exposed supply into two distinct categories. Structural exposure accounts for 1.92 million BTC, or 9.6% of the issued supply. These are coins locked in script formats that reveal the public key by design, including early &#8220;pay-to-public-key&#8221; outputs associated with Bitcoin&#8217;s pseudonymous founder <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/resources\/satoshi-nakamoto\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Satoshi Nakamoto<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\">, legacy multisignature structures, and more recent Taproot outputs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Many of these coins may be effectively immovable\u2014lost wallets or dormant holdings that cannot be voluntarily migrated to safer address formats.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The larger and more actionable category is what Glassnode calls operational exposure. Operational exposure totals 4.12 million BTC, or 20.6% of the issued supply. These coins were not inherently vulnerable, but became so through address reuse\u2014a practice where a wallet receives multiple transactions at the same address, eventually broadcasting the public key during a spend and leaving any remaining balance exposed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Exchanges loom large in this category. Within the operationally unsafe bucket, 1.66 million BTC, or 8.3% of the total supply, is exchange-related\u2014representing approximately 40% of all operationally unsafe Bitcoin. The exposure is strikingly uneven across platforms. Among the largest exchanges, Coinbase&#8217;s labeled balances appear largely concentrated in non-exposed structures, with only 5%exposed, while Binance and Bitfinex show comparatively high susceptible balances\u201485% and 100%, respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Glassnode was careful to note that its findings should not be read as a risk ranking or solvency signal for any particular firm, stressing that the data reflects custody design choices rather than imminent danger. Sovereign Bitcoin holdings fared considerably better: the United States, United Kingdom, and El Salvador all show zero quantum exposure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The report stops well short of predicting when\u2014or whether\u2014a quantum computer capable of cracking Bitcoin&#8217;s encryption will exist. It frames its analysis instead as a baseline, noting that for exchanges and custodians, address hygiene, reserve management, reduced key reuse, and migration planning are the practical levers through which visible exposure can decline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The findings arrive as quantum computing advances accelerate globally and as the Bitcoin developer community debates protocol-level responses, including a proposed update known as BIP-360 that would introduce more quantum-resistant transaction formats. Another official proposal <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/364450\/new-bitcoin-proposal-would-freeze-coins-to-counter-quantum-threat\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">would freeze coins<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> that are not migrated by a set deadline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-meta-serif-pro scene:font-noto-sans scene:text-base scene:md:text-lg font-normal text-lg md:text-xl md:leading-9 tracking-px text-body gg-dark:text-neutral-100\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Estimates for \u201cQ-Day\u201d\u2014when a quantum computer comes online that\u2019s powerful enough to crack the cryptography securing blockchains like <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/resources\/what-is-bitcoin-four-minute-instant-guide-explainer\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Bitcoin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> and <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/resources\/what-is-ethereum-quickly-explained-four-minute-guide\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Ethereum<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\">\u2014range <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/367047\/bitcoin-ethereum-q-day-quantum-threat-could-arrive-2030\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">from 2030<\/a> to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/362856\/google-quantum-paper-boosts-odds-of-bitcoin-q-day-by-2032-researchers-warn\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\">2032 and beyond<\/a>. On Thursday, the United States government announced that it will <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/368647\/us-government-2-billion-bet-quantum-computing-bitcoin-threat-grows\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"sc-adb616fe-0 bJsyml\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">invest over $2 billion<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> into quantum startups and planned foundries to fuel American industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"my-4 border-b border-decryptGridline\">\n<div class=\"text-start p-8 md:py-12 md:px-12 max-w-prose relative\"><span class=\"border-t-4 border-l-4 w-4 h-4 md:border-t-[6px] md:border-l-[6px] md:w-6 md:h-6 border-decryptPurple dark:border-decryptNeon gg-dark:border-cc-pink-2 absolute top-4 left-4 md:top-6 md:left-6\"\/><span class=\"border-t-4 border-l-4 w-4 h-4 md:border-t-[6px] md:border-l-[6px] md:w-6 md:h-6 border-decryptPurple dark:border-decryptNeon gg-dark:border-cc-pink-2 absolute rotate-180 bottom-4 right-4 md:bottom-6 md:right-6\"\/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"font-akzidenz-grotesk font-bold text-xl md:text-3xl md:text-center gg-dark:text-white\">Daily Debrief<!-- --> Newsletter<\/h3>\n<p>Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In brief 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":428029,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[230,225,221,227,226,228,229,60,223,224,222],"class_list":["post-428027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency","tag-brave","tag-coinbase","tag-crypto","tag-decentralised","tag-decentralized","tag-decentralized-exchange","tag-erc-20","tag-featured","tag-meme-coin","tag-robinhood","tag-solana"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428027"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":428030,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428027\/revisions\/428030"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/428029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}