Coinbase's Quantum Council Urges Crypto to Start Migrating Now; 7M Bitcoin at Risk

According to Coinbase's Independent Advisory Board on Quantum Computing and Blockchain, the board urged the crypto industry on June 11 to begin migrating Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other networks to quantum-safe cryptography immediately, arguing that uncertain timelines should not delay preparation efforts.

The council, established by Coinbase in January, released a report warning that technical migration to post-quantum security will require years of coordination across decentralized networks. The board estimated that roughly 7 million Bitcoins sit in addresses with exposed public keys, making them vulnerable to future quantum attacks; many of these coins are believed to belong to Satoshi Nakamoto or to wallets whose owners long ago lost their keys. Research cited by the council warned that a cryptographically relevant quantum computer capable of cracking elliptic-curve signatures is likely to arrive by 2030 or earlier.