Europol Warns Crypto Wallets Are 'Primary Risk' for Quantum Attacks
Europol issued two reports urging early preparation for quantum computers that could undermine cryptocurrency security and other encryption. The main crypto risk is that a powerful quantum computer could derive wallet private keys from exposed public keys and steal funds; blockchain hash functions are considered far less vulnerable. Europol recommends phased adoption of quantum-resistant cryptography and stronger wallet practices, with pre-emptive migration for funds whose public keys are already exposed. Such a Bitcoin transition could be costly: post-quantum signatures are much larger, and migrating all unspent outputs could require substantial network downtime. A separate report warns of “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks, though it finds no clear evidence of widespread exploitation. Europol proposes an EU working group to coordinate preparations.
