Coinbase Council Warns 7 Million Bitcoin May Face Future Quantum Risk
Coinbase’s Quantum Advisory Council says Bitcoin and other crypto networks should start planning for post-quantum migration now, even though no existing quantum computer can yet break current public-key cryptography. The main challenge is not only upgrading users to quantum-safe addresses, but deciding what to do with coins that are lost, abandoned, or never migrated. The report estimates about 7 million BTC may be quantum-vulnerable, including coins in address formats where public keys are already exposed and coins affected by address reuse. About 1.7 million BTC are in legacy Pay-to-Public-Key addresses, where public keys are directly visible. It outlines three broad policy paths: force a migration deadline and freeze or burn non-migrated funds, preserve existing rights and do nothing, or adopt middle-ground tools such as transfer limits for old addresses and zero-knowledge proofs to prove ownership. The key recommendation is to build and test quantum-safe systems now, while leaving the governance dispute for later.
