Europol Highlights Quantum Threats to Crypto Wallets
- Europol’s report identifies cryptocurrency wallets as the primary point of exposure to quantum threats.
- Making every Bitcoin output quantum-safe could require at least 76 days of cumulative network downtime.
- NIST-standardized post-quantum signatures are significantly larger than current ECDSA signatures, potentially overloading block space.
- IBM and Microsoft project scalable quantum computing by around the year 2029.
- A survey estimates a machine breaking RSA-2048 encryption within a day has a probability of up to 49% in the next decade.
The Europol reports urge immediate action from the crypto industry and policymakers to prepare for potential quantum computing threats that could compromise wallet security and transaction integrity. The transition to quantum-resistant cryptography is recommended to ensure long-term security.
With significant downtime anticipated for making Bitcoin outputs quantum-safe, proactive measures like preemptive migration and enhanced key management are essential for maintaining blockchain security in the face of evolving technological capabilities. Source
