{"id":93749,"date":"2026-01-30T15:52:54","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T12:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=93749"},"modified":"2026-01-30T15:55:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T12:55:15","slug":"benchmark-quantum-threat-to-bitcoin-overstated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/benchmark-quantum-threat-to-bitcoin-overstated\/","title":{"rendered":"Benchmark: Quantum Threat to Bitcoin Overstated"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Benchmark analysts have described the quantum threat to the leading cryptocurrency as &#8220;long-term&#8221; and &#8220;manageable.&#8221; In a new report, experts urged against succumbing to panic, reports <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblock.co\/post\/387704\/bitcoins-quantum-risk-long-dated-benchmark-pushes-back-panic?utm_source=telegram1&#038;utm_medium=social\">The Block<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Researcher Mark Palmer acknowledged the theoretical vulnerability of Bitcoin&#8217;s cryptography but emphasized that real attacks are &#8220;decades, not years&#8221; away. Developers have ample time to adapt the protocol.<\/p>\n<p>A powerful quantum computer could theoretically compute a &#8220;private key&#8221; from public data. However, Palmer clarified that the threat only concerns coins at addresses with already revealed public keys.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Risk Assessment<\/h2>\n<p>According to Benchmark&#8217;s calculations, between 1 and 2 million BTC are vulnerable. This pertains to funds in reused addresses or &#8220;Satoshi-era&#8221; wallets.<\/p>\n<p>Alternative estimates differ: K33 researcher Vetle Lunde <a href=\"https:\/\/k33.com\/research\/articles\/zooming-in-rather-than-out\">pointed<\/a> to 6.8 million BTC at risk. However, he noted the uncertainty of timelines and called for developer coordination rather than panic selling.<\/p>\n<p>Experts&#8217; forecasts on when a real threat might emerge vary:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Venture investor Chamath Palihapitiya <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Bitcoin_Teddy\/status\/1989423092154900507\">stated<\/a> in November that risks would become relevant in the next 2-5 years;<\/li>\n<li>Cryptographer Adam Back disagreed with the pessimistic scenario, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/adam3us\/status\/1989721899991986374?s=20\">pushing the horizon to 20-40 years<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Benchmark also dismissed the notion of Bitcoin&#8217;s architecture being inflexible. Analysts recalled successful <span data-descr=\"softfork \u2014 an update that maintains backward compatibility of software\" class=\"old_tooltip\">softforks<\/span> like <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/taproot-upgrade-activated-on-the-bitcoin-network\">Taproot<\/a> and predicted a smooth transition of the network to quantum resistance.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Industry Preparation<\/h2>\n<p>Major players have already begun preparing for the post-quantum era:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Ethereum Foundation <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/ethereum-foundation-establishes-post-quantum-security-team\">formed<\/a> a security group and allocated a $1 million research grant;<\/li>\n<li>Coinbase <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coinbase.com\/ru\/blog\/coinbase-establishes-independent-advisory-board-on-quantum-computing-and-blockchain\">established<\/a> an advisory board to assess risks and develop protection strategies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Investors also remain cautious: previously, Jefferies strategist Christopher Wood <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblock.co\/post\/385951\/jefferies-wood-drops-bitcoin-allocation-over-quantum-computing-fears\">excluded<\/a> Bitcoin from a model portfolio, citing quantum technologies as an existential threat to the network.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier, leading _Checkonchain analyst James Check <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/james-check-dismisses-quantum-threat-as-factor-in-bitcoins-price-decline\">stated<\/a> that the primary reason for the weakness of the leading cryptocurrency is large-scale sales by long-term holders, not concerns about the asset&#8217;s long-term prospects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Benchmark analysts have described the quantum threat to the leading cryptocurrency as &#8220;long-term&#8221; and &#8220;manageable.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"Benchmark analysts see the quantum threat to Bitcoin as long-term and manageable.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[18,1360],"class_list":["post-93749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-bitcoin","tag-quantum-computing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"219","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"Benchmark analysts see the quantum threat to Bitcoin as long-term and manageable.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93749"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93751,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93749\/revisions\/93751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}