Scientists warn that quantum technologies can hack $ 1 trillion worth of bitcoin wallets

Breakthroughs in quantum technology could pose a serious threat to the security of bitcoin BTC $107,312.00 Mezo Wrapped BTC 1.75% Market capitalization $57.2 million VOL. 24 hours $2.42 billion in the future, and at the same time provide a huge financial incentive to hack it. According to Gizmodo, a sufficiently powerful quantum computer is theoretically capable of decrypting private keys to bitcoin wallets that have been lost. Among them are the addresses allegedly belonging to Сатоші Накамото" href="https://noworries.news/biography/satoshi-nakamoto/" data-bio-id="4232">Satoshi Nakamoto. According to Deloitte, the total value of such coins could reach $ 460 billion, and even $ 1 trillion if the price of BTC rises.

Scientists explain that quantum computing can crack the cryptographic algorithms that underlie Internet security and blockchain technologies. Although such machines do not currently exist, experts predict that quantum computers could reach critical power in the 2030s.

Particular attention is drawn to early bitcoin addresses, which are called «Satoshi shields.» Hacking them would signal that the quantum threat has become real. This would make it possible to «unlock» hundreds of thousands of coins to which access has been lost.

In response to the potential danger, developers are already discussing protocol updates. There is the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP), which provides for the transition to quantum secure addresses. This may be one of the few cases where changes in the network will actually be mandatory to protect assets.

Some analysts suggest that governments may intervene in the «pursuit of quantum bitcoin.» In the United States, negotiations are already underway on public investment in quantum startups, and the program itself is called the «new Manhattan Project» of the digital age.