"One-third of Bitcoin supply vulnerable to quantum computing attacks"

Concerns about Bitcoin (BTC)'s long-term security structure have resurfaced. As quantum computing technology is advancing faster than expected, analysis suggests that a large portion of Bitcoin's supply is structurally vulnerable.

On the 6th, according to DL News, David Duong, head of investment research at Coinbase, said, "About one-third of the Bitcoin supply appears vulnerable to long-term quantum computing attacks due to exposed cryptographic information." He assessed that "Bitcoin's long-term security may be entering a new phase."

Duong said, "The quantum computing threat is still in its early stages, but it is approaching faster than the market expects," and assessed, "It is evolving from a mere theoretical risk into a structural risk." He added, "Investors are increasingly aware that the quantum computing risk may arrive sooner than expected."

He explained that wallets with past transaction histories, in particular, are more vulnerable because their public keys are exposed. Duong pointed out, "The cryptographic structure of wallets with exposed public keys is relatively susceptible to brute-force attacks," and "This accounts for a significant portion of the total Bitcoin supply."

Regarding security structure, he noted that signature schemes, rather than mining, are the key risk factor. He said, "Quantum mining is not a realistic threat at present," but emphasized, "Signature security is the most important issue." He explained, "If quantum computers achieve sufficient performance, it cannot be ruled out that private keys could be derived from public keys to steal assets."

In this regard, global asset manager BlackRock also listed quantum computing as a major risk factor in last year's Bitcoin spot ETF prospectus. The market observes that short-term effects may be limited, but in the medium to long term, discussions on responses across Bitcoin's security system may become unavoidable.