Coinbase council says Bitcoin must start preparing for quantum threat

Coinbase's quantum computing advisory council has stated that blockchain networks, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), must begin preparing now for the threat posed by quantum computers. The council analyzed that around seven million BTC could be vulnerable to future quantum attacks due to issues like public key exposure and address reuse. This figure includes assets presumed to belong to Satoshi Nakamoto and those that have remained dormant for extended periods, the council explained. It also noted that reaching an industry consensus on how to handle assets not migrated to quantum-safe addresses will be a major challenge. Coinbase emphasized that while current quantum computers are not yet capable of breaking Bitcoin's cryptography, proactive preparation is necessary because the timeline for such technological advancements is uncertain.