- According to research by Glassnode, part Bitcoin-wallets are potentially more vulnerable to quantum threats than others.
- Experts identified two categories of vulnerability: structural and operational.
A new analysis has quantified the share of Bitcoin (BTC) that is currently exposed to potential quantum computing risks.
Currently, approximately 6,04 million BTC, or 30,2% of the issued Bitcoin, have public keys, mostly in a dormant state, which theoretically makes wallets vulnerable to future quantum attacks.
The remaining 13,99 million BTC, or 69,8%, have no public keys, according to According to, published by Glassnode on May 20.
The study identified two vulnerability categories: structural and operational. The structural vulnerability affects 1,92 million BTC, or 9,6% of the total supply. This includes coins held at addresses inherently vulnerable due to early versions of Pay-to-Public-Key, a simple multisig structure, and a version of Taproot.
Quantum Safety’s Bitcoin Offering. Data from Glassnode
The operational vulnerability amounts to 4,12 million BTC or 20,6% of the total supply and is caused by practices such as address reuse, partial spending UTXO and certain storage schemes that expose public keys.
Cryptocurrency exchanges account for a significant share of this vulnerability, holding approximately 1,63–1,66 million BTC of the operationally vulnerable supply.
Vulnerability levels vary across custodians, with some sovereign assets, such as those of the US, UK and El Salvador, exhibiting near-zero vulnerability.
Bitcoin Operational Insecurity by Organization: Glassnode Data
Glassnode noted that the risk only applies to coins with visible public keys. While modern cryptography remains robust, a sufficiently advanced quantum computer using Shor’s algorithm could theoretically derive private keys from known public keys.
Coins without visible public keys are not considered vulnerable under the “at rest” model. This distinction is important because vulnerability at rest reflects bitcoins that could be targeted by an attack, while vulnerability at spend only occurs when coins are moved.
According to Glassnode experts, operational risks can be mitigated by using wallets differently, specifically by avoiding address reuse and better managing storage reserves. However, structural risks associated with long-inactive coins may remain.
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