25% of Bitcoin at Risk: Developers Push for Quantum-Resistant Upgrade

Developers are warning that about 25% of the Bitcoin supply, roughly 4 million BTC, could be vulnerable to attacks from future quantum computers because of exposed public keys. A proposed solution involves a three-phase upgrade to the Bitcoin software. The first phase would block sending Bitcoin to vulnerable addresses, requiring a new, quantum-resistant address type. A second phase, planned for two years later, would freeze any funds not moved to a secure address. A final phase is under study to allow recovery of frozen assets using a seed phrase. This initiative aims to incentivize users to move their Bitcoin to safer storage methods that are resistant to quantum computing threats. One group reports that over 10 million Bitcoin addresses have exposed public keys, placing roughly 6.2 million BTC (around $500 billion) at risk if quantum computing continues to advance.