Europol on Oct. 7 published two reports urging the crypto industry and policymakers to prepare for quantum computing risks before they become operational threats. The agency’s European Cybercrime Centre said crypto wallets stand out as the main point of exposure because a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could derive a private key from a public key that has already been revealed, allowing unauthorized transfers of funds. By contrast, the hash functions used to link blocks and support mining are still viewed as broadly resistant to quantum attacks.
The reports do not argue that cryptocurrencies would collapse because of quantum computing. Instead, Europol recommends a phased migration toward post-quantum cryptography, along with stronger wallet security and better key management. For wallets whose public keys are already visible on-chain, the agency said funds should be moved before any viable attack emerges.
Europol also flagged a practical scaling issue: standardized post-quantum signatures could be 10 to 120 times larger than the ECDSA signatures currently used by Bitcoin, potentially increasing block space pressure, lifting fees, and slowing confirmations. A separate report examined the "harvest now, decrypt later" risk, though Europol said there is no clear evidence that the tactic is already being used in a systematic, large-scale way.
Europol published two reports on Oct. 7 calling on the crypto industry and policymakers to get ahead of threats tied to quantum computing.
The agency’s European Cybercrime Centre said crypto wallets are the main point of risk. According to the report, a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could derive a private key from a public key that has already been exposed, making unauthorized asset transfers possible.
That is not the same as saying cryptocurrencies would fail outright. Europol said the hash functions used to link blocks and support mining remain broadly resistant to quantum attacks. Its recommendation is a phased migration to post-quantum cryptography, paired with stronger wallet security and tighter key management.
For wallets with public keys already visible on-chain, the report said funds should be moved before such attacks become feasible.
Europol also pointed to a technical tradeoff. Standardized post-quantum signatures could be 10 to 120 times larger than the ECDSA signatures now used by Bitcoin. That could add pressure on block space, push transaction fees higher, and slow confirmation times.
A separate report focused on the "harvest now, decrypt later" scenario, where attackers collect encrypted data first and attempt to break it once quantum capabilities improve. Europol said there is currently no clear evidence that this method has been used in a systematic, large-scale way. Government communications and sensitive corporate data were identified as the most likely targets.
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