quantum attack

Bitcoin

2026-09-21 20:40:56

Justin Drake says Satoshi-era Bitcoin addresses face quantum risk

Bitcoin security researcher Justin Drake said in an interview that early mining addresses linked to Satoshi Nakamoto could be vulnerable to quantum attacks because they used raw public keys instead of hashed addresses. He said the addresses in question hold about 1 million BTC. Drake added that ordinary users remain safe as long as they move bitcoin to a fresh address and do not spend from it, since the public key is not exposed in that case. He also said even the fastest quantum computers currently being discussed would still need time to break keys, so users do not need to rush into post-quantum cryptography tools that are still under development. According to Drake, Bitcoin developers are already testing quantum-resistant approaches, including Quantum Safe Bitcoin transactions that do not require consensus changes and the BIP-361 proposal, which is designed to gradually freeze vulnerable addresses. The report was cited by CryptoPotato.

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quantum attac

2026-08-10 03:45:57

Quantum Attack May First Surface as Unexplained Crypto Wallet Thefts

Christopher Smith, founder of blockchain startup Quantus, said the first quantum attack may appear as a string of unexplainable crypto wallet thefts, not as a heist of the estimated $63 billion in dormant bitcoin attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could derive private keys from public keys exposed on-chain, enabling transfers without breaching wallets, devices, or exchange internals. In a breach of a highly secure institution, the only forensic evidence might be the absence of intrusion traces. Smith sees military systems and state secrets as early targets, while in crypto, Tether's minting keys could be more valuable—allowing an attacker to create tokens at will and dump them before the issuer responds. Google has accelerated its post-quantum migration timetable to 2029, and Smith puts the probability of quantum computers breaking modern cryptography around 2028 at 50-50. Some blockchains already, Smith noted, have started moving to post-quantum signatures.

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Q-Day

2026-07-23 23:25:16

Q-Day Looms as Quantum Threat Targets Crypto Wallets—Solana and NEAR Prepare

CNN reignites Q-Day concerns: quantum computers could break current encryption. Solana clients Anza and Firedancer test Falcon signatures; NEAR warns of ownership disputes and plans FIPS-204 testnet by Q2 2026. NIST urges migration to post-quantum standards.

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Bitcoin

2026-07-22 16:40:13

Bitcoin Developers Propose BIP-361: Freeze Quantum-Vulnerable Addresses, Affecting 1.7M BTC

Led by Jameson Lopp, Bitcoin developers propose a phased freeze of legacy wallet addresses to counter quantum threats, targeting ~1.7M BTC. Critics argue forced upgrades conflict with Bitcoin principles.

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