Coinbase council warns 7M BTC face quantum risk, urges migration

Coinbase’s Quantum Advisory Council urged early post‑quantum planning for Bitcoin and other networks. The June 11 report flags legacy exposures and a slow governance path as the real risk, not today’s hardware. Source.

The council says about 7 million BTC are quantum‑vulnerable due to exposed public keys and address reuse. Report.

Roughly 1.7 million BTC sit in legacy P2PK outputs. Many are early mined, lost, or abandoned. Report.

No current quantum computer can break today’s crypto. The council still calls the risk strategic because ecosystem upgrades can take years. Report.

The governance dilemma centers on coins that never move.

- Hard deadline with freeze or burn of non‑migrated funds. Raises property‑rights issues. Report
- Preserve rights and do nothing. Leaves future theft risk if quantum attacks emerge. Report
- Middle paths. Rate‑limit old outputs and use zero‑knowledge proofs like BIP‑361 to prove ownership without extra exposure. Report

Their practical ask is to split tracks. Build and test quantum‑safe signatures now. Debate abandoned‑coin policy separately. Report.

Bottom line for holders. Today’s coins are not suddenly unsafe. Long‑lived assets need a long‑lived migration plan before the emergency arrives. Report.

Headline
Coinbase council urges post‑quantum plan for Bitcoin. 7M BTC flagged as vulnerable.