Quantitative exposure to Bitcoin covers 1.92 million BTC, or 9.6% of the total supply, Glassnode warned in a new report.
summary
- Glassnode has classified 1.92 million BTC as structurally vulnerable to a quantum hack because its output types expose public keys by design.
- Satoshi Nakamoto’s coins represent about 1.1 million BTC in structural risk, with another 620,000 BTC in other early outputs from the Satoshi era.
- 4.12 million BTC, or 20.6% of supply, is operationally exposed due to address reuse and key management practices at exchanges.
Blockchain analytics company Glassnode published A full analysis dated May 20 classifies 1.92 million bitcoins, or 9.6% of the total supply, as structurally vulnerable to a future quantum computing hack.
The structural class covers outputs whose design exposes the public key regardless of address management. The three types at risk are Satoshi-era public key payment outputs, legacy multi-signature structures, and Taproot payment outputs.
Glassnode segments Bitcoin quantitative exposure by address type
Glassnode classified 4.12 million bitcoins, or 20.6% of supply, as operationally exposed due to address reuse and key mismanagement. This is more than double the structurally unsafe supply.
Bitcoin accounts owned by exchanges account for a disproportionate share. About 1.66 million Bitcoins on exchanges, 8.3% of the total supply, fall into the short category. Binance shows 85% exposed balances while Coinbase listed balances are only 5% exposed.
What does the structural versus operational split mean for shareholders?
Glassnode said exposure can be reduced through better address standards and user behavior. BIP-360 proposes a quantum-resistant Pay-to-Merkle-Root output type that provides a voluntary migration path for affected owners.
Crypto.news has Covered The full timeline of the quantum threat, including the estimated 2,330 logical qubits needed to crack Bitcoin’s elliptic curve encryption.
What should exchanges and custodians do now?
Glassnode advised exchanges and custodians to reduce key reuse, improve address cleanliness, and plan to move to quantum-resistant formats before any hack occurs. The company stressed that the risks are structural but not yet active.
Citi analysis, as crypto.news I mentionedIt found that a quantum attack on major financial institutions could put $2 to $3.3 trillion of GDP at risk. the Bitcoin price The page tracks how markets are pricing in these long-term security concerns along with current price action.
