So, there's an interesting report from CoinShares that actually debunks the panic narrative about quantum computing often hyped up in the community. Turns out, the quantum threat to Bitcoin is much more exaggerated than we thought.



The main point is: there are about 1.6 million BTC in old P2PK addresses that are theoretically more vulnerable if quantum computers become powerful. But what's interesting here—out of that 1.6 million, only around 10,200 BTC are concentrated enough to potentially cause "significant market disruption" if stolen. The rest are spread across more than 32,000 separate UTXOs, each averaging 50 BTC. So, in the event of a quantum attack, the attacker would have to break into one UTXO at a time, not just steal from one large address and move the market. This makes the operation much slower and less profitable.

More importantly: to truly crack Bitcoin's cryptography, we need a quantum computer roughly 100,000 times more powerful than the largest machines available today. For reference, Google's Willow is a 105-qubit machine, but breaking encryption keys requires millions of qubits. So realistically, this threat might only emerge in a decade or more.

The bottom line is, CoinShares argues this isn't an emergency but a long-term engineering challenge. Bitcoin can gradually adopt post-quantum signatures over time without a panic migration. This aligns with what Bitcoin developers say—most of them see quantum computing as a distant issue, not an immediate crisis.

Of course, there are critics who say the problem isn't the timeline but the lack of visible preparation, especially as governments and tech companies start rolling out quantum-resistant systems. Proposals like BIP-360 aim to introduce new wallet formats that let users migrate gradually. But the debate highlights a growing gap between developers and institutional capital that want a clear long-term plan.

From a price and market impact perspective, this is actually a bullish signal in the short term. The quantum threat isn't a game-changer for Bitcoin's fundamentals over the next 5-10 years. The market has already priced in worst-case scenarios, and the reality is much less dire than the FUD circulating. This is one of many structural risks investors look to blame during volatile markets, but the fact is, Bitcoin has time to adapt and prepare with proper engineering solutions.
BTC-1,73%
View Original
This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.
  • Reward
  • Comment
  • Repost
  • Share
Comment
Add a comment
Add a comment
No comments
  • Pin