CryptoQuant Founder Warns Quantum Computers Could Threaten Satoshi’s BTC
Ki Young Ju, founder of CryptoQuant, warned that quantum computing poses a long-term theft risk to dormant Bitcoin holdings, including roughly 1 million BTC linked to Satoshi Nakamoto. He estimates about 6.89 million BTC could be vulnerable: 1.91M in addresses with exposed public keys and 4.98M whose keys may have been revealed via past transactions. Around 3.4M BTC have been unmoved for over a decade. Ki stressed the main challenge is social consensus — getting the Bitcoin community to accept proactive protocol changes (such as freezing dormant coins) could be contentious and slow. He warned that failure to reach agreement could lead to competing forks if action is required before quantum threats materialize. Separately, BIP-360 — a proposal to modify Taproot key-path behavior and reduce public key exposure — has progressed as a preventative structural step; proponents say it is not an emergency but prudent long-term mitigation. Primary keywords: quantum computing, Bitcoin security, dormant BTC, Satoshi BTC, BIP-360.
Neutral
The news raises a significant long-term security concern but does not indicate an immediate technical break of Bitcoin cryptography. Market impact is likely neutral overall. In the short term, traders may react with increased volatility or risk-off positioning due to headlines about Satoshi’s large dormant holdings and the theoretical vulnerability; fear-driven selling could occur if the story spreads widely. However, developers and community proposals (e.g., BIP-360) are already addressing exposure paths, and experts emphasize this is preventative rather than an active exploit. Historically, theoretical threats without demonstrated exploits (e.g., post-quantum debates, theoretical attack vectors) have caused temporary price swings but no sustained market downtrend. In the long term, if credible quantum-capable attacks or a clear timetable for quantum advantage emerged, market sentiment would turn bearish and incentivize rapid protocol changes or forks — creating uncertainty for custody, exchange policies, and institutional holdings. Conversely, successful implementation of mitigations and community coordination would restore confidence and could be slightly bullish by demonstrating network resilience. For traders: monitor on-chain indicators (large dormant address movement), developer signals (BIP-360 adoption, soft-fork vs hard-fork proposals), and news flow about quantum hardware progress. Manage risk with position sizing and watch for short-term volatility from headline-driven flows.