Quantum Alliance forms amid warnings 6.4 million bitcoin face future quantum threat Nine crypto companies launched the Quantum Alliance to jointly prepare for quantum attacks, but they disagree on when the threat will arrive and whether vulnerable BTC should be frozen. – Experts…
rn that a future quantum computer could expose the secret keys of wallets holding an estimated 6.4 million bitcoin, including 1.1 million attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto, though no existing machine can do so. – Researchers disagree on when the threat could emerge, with one citing 2028 as realistic, while a new industry alliance is developing standards to help blockchains adopt quantum-resistant security. – Proposals to freeze, move or place vulnerable bitcoin in a trust have raised concerns about property rights and network neutrality, and any security upgrade would require broad coordination across the Bitcoin ecosystem. Who gets Satoshi Nakamoto’s 1.1 million bitcoin, and, for that matter, millions more that are at risk if quantum computers become powerful enough to break the security protecting it, has been a topic of intense debate for quite some time
Christopher Smith, CEO of quantum-resistant layer-1 blockchain Quantus, believes whoever develops that technology first could take those tokens worth billions, potentially with government backing. “The most likely scenario is that whoever gets the first CRQC (Cryptographically Relevant Quantum Computer) will take them, probably with the blessing of whichever national government,” Smith told CoinDesk. “Hopefully it’s a government that likes bitcoin.” The security researcher and protocol engineer’s warning comes as nine crypto companies unveiled the Quantum Alliance on Thursday to develop common security standards for bitcoin, Ethereum and other blockchain networks. The concern is that future quantum computers could reverse-engineer a wallet’s publicly visible key to uncover its secret key, allowing attackers to steal funds. The Alliance…