Glassnode Says 10% of Bitcoin Supply Is Structurally Vulnerable to Quantum Computing

On-chain analytics firm Glassnode said part of Bitcoin’s supply could be structurally vulnerable as quantum computing advances, reviving debate over changes to the cryptocurrency’s security architecture.

Cointelegraph reported on May 20 that Glassnode said in a report about 10% of Bitcoin’s total supply is structurally exposed to risks tied to advances in quantum computing.

The report said roughly 1.92 million BTC falls into that category.

Glassnode said some Bitcoin holdings are built in ways that expose public keys regardless of how addresses are managed.

It cited P2PK, or Pay-to-Public-Key, outputs used during Satoshi Nakamoto’s era, as well as P2MS, or Pay-to-Multisig, structures and the P2TR, or Pay-to-Taproot, format.

Because those structures expose public keys, or equivalent information, by design, they could be vulnerable to future attacks using quantum computing.

The report also stressed the need to build a secure migration path to address quantum computing risks.

It also referred to the proposed P2MR, or Pay-to-Merkle-Root, output format in BIP-360.

The proposal would introduce wallet architecture designed to resist quantum computing attacks and allow voluntary asset transfers.

As advances in quantum computing accelerate, industry debate over the safety of blockchain cryptographic systems has widened.

Market participants are watching how quantum-resistant technology and debate over Bitcoin network upgrades could affect the network’s long-term security architecture.