El Salvador Splits $678M BTC into 14 Wallets to Hedge Quantum Risk
El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office has split its entire BTC reserve—around 6,274 BTC (about $678 million)—from a single address into 14 wallets, each capped at 500 BTC, completing all transfers in one batch to strengthen custody security against theoretical quantum computing threats. The government also launched a public on-chain dashboard for transparency. This shard-and-spread strategy uses unused addresses to conceal public keys and limits exposure per wallet, setting a template for sovereign crypto custody. While quantum attacks remain theoretical and the immediate market impact is minimal, this proactive move could bolster long-term market confidence and influence institutional security practices.
Neutral
While El Salvador’s move to shard and spread its BTC reserve across multiple wallets enhances security and transparency—factors that can boost long-term confidence—the immediate effect on Bitcoin’s price is negligible. In the short term, the market is unlikely to react strongly to an internal risk-management adjustment. Over the long term, however, improved custody practices by a sovereign actor could reassure institutional investors, providing mild support for Bitcoin’s price stability.