Overview
- The Coinbase advisory board released a 50-page report Tuesday that urges immediate planning for a future quantum computer even though networks remain secure today.
- Wallets that have revealed their public keys on-chain are flagged as the first likely targets for a future attack, with coverage citing about 6.9 million Bitcoin as exposed, a figure under debate.
- Proof-of-stake networks face added risk because validator signatures secure block production and finality, so parts of their consensus design may need to change.
- Post-quantum signatures are much larger, with one estimate pointing to as much as a 38× jump in block data, which signals costly, multi-year upgrades that track with NIST guidance to complete migration by 2035.
- The report spotlights early moves such as Algorand’s quantum-ready account tools, an Aptos design that lets users rotate to new keys without moving funds, Solana’s new signature option, and an Ethereum roadmap for upgrades.