The public keys of 31% of all BTC have been exposed. Your address might be one of them.
Last time, we talked about the threats AI and quantum computing pose to cryptography. Today’s data makes the risk more concrete.
On-chain data shows that public keys for around 6.26 million BTC have already been exposed—31.2% of the total. Back in 2021, that figure was 24.8%. Instead of falling, it’s gone up.
Most of the exposure comes from address reuse. Around 4.33 million BTC are affected because people repeatedly receive and send funds using the same address. Put simply, lots of people stick with one address for everything.
An exposed public key doesn’t mean your funds can be stolen today. Current computing power is nowhere near enough to crack it. But if quantum computing or AI makes a breakthrough, these coins will be among the first targets.
Blockchains are already taking action.
The ZEC team plans to launch quantum-resistant signatures next January, starting with protection for transparent transactions and covering around 70% of ZEC. NEAR’s founder says its account system can be upgraded just by updating keys, without moving assets—that’s an inherent advantage of its account model.
Industry leaders are also starting to clash. Vitalik advocates for hash-based signatures, while Cardano’s founder has publicly pushed back, supporting existing post-quantum standards. The debate over which path to take is only just beginning.
What ordinary users can do right now is simple—and useful.
Don’t reuse receiving addresses. Use a new address each time you receive funds. Keep large holdings in addresses that have never sent funds, and regularly check on old wallets you’ve left untouched for a long time.
There’s no need to panic, but it’s important to prepare early. If you wait until something actually happens, it’ll be too late to switch.
Last time, we talked about the threats AI and quantum computing pose to cryptography. Today’s data makes the risk more concrete.
On-chain data shows that public keys for around 6.26 million BTC have already been exposed—31.2% of the total. Back in 2021, that figure was 24.8%. Instead of falling, it’s gone up.
Most of the exposure comes from address reuse. Around 4.33 million BTC are affected because people repeatedly receive and send funds using the same address. Put simply, lots of people stick with one address for everything.
An exposed public key doesn’t mean your funds can be stolen today. Current computing power is nowhere near enough to crack it. But if quantum computing or AI makes a breakthrough, these coins will be among the first targets.
Blockchains are already taking action.
The ZEC team plans to launch quantum-resistant signatures next January, starting with protection for transparent transactions and covering around 70% of ZEC. NEAR’s founder says its account system can be upgraded just by updating keys, without moving assets—that’s an inherent advantage of its account model.
Industry leaders are also starting to clash. Vitalik advocates for hash-based signatures, while Cardano’s founder has publicly pushed back, supporting existing post-quantum standards. The debate over which path to take is only just beginning.
What ordinary users can do right now is simple—and useful.
Don’t reuse receiving addresses. Use a new address each time you receive funds. Keep large holdings in addresses that have never sent funds, and regularly check on old wallets you’ve left untouched for a long time.
There’s no need to panic, but it’s important to prepare early. If you wait until something actually happens, it’ll be too late to switch.