Long-term holder Willy Woo responded that veteran investors would purchase during any flash crash.
Bitcoin News
A social media discussion erupted Saturday about potential market effects if quantum computers hacked Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin holdings. YouTuber Josh Otten shared a theoretical price chart showing Bitcoin crashing to $3.00 following a quantum attack that steals and sells Satoshi's 1 million coins.
Long-term holder Willy Woo responded that veteran investors would purchase during any flash crash. The Bitcoin network would survive such an event because most coins are not immediately vulnerable to quantum threats. Only specific address types face direct exposure to attacks from sufficiently powerful quantum machines.
About 4 million Bitcoin sit in pay-to-public-key addresses, including Satoshi's holdings. These P2PK addresses expose full public keys on-chain when owners spend coins, creating vulnerability to quantum attacks. A powerful enough quantum computer could theoretically derive private keys from exposed public keys.
Newer Bitcoin wallet address formats provide better protection against quantum threats. These addresses do not reveal full public keys on-chain, preventing quantum computers from generating paired private keys without that crucial data point.
The crypto community continues to debate quantum computing implications for Bitcoin and the encryption technology underlying digital assets. Some argue that quantum computers will threaten the entire industry, while others see manageable risks with adequate preparation time.
Adam Back, an early Bitcoin holder and Blockstream co-founder, stated that quantum threats remain 20 to 40 years away. Post-quantum cryptography standards already exist, giving the network decades to adopt protective measures before viable quantum computers emerge.
Market analyst James Check said quantum computing poses more risk to Bitcoin's price than its technology. Users will migrate to quantum-resistant addresses before powerful quantum computers arrive, but the community faces difficult decisions about Satoshi's coins.
Check said there is zero chance that Bitcoin community members will agree to freeze Satoshi's holdings before quantum computers hack those wallets. This means Satoshi's coins could eventually return to circulation through quantum attacks, creating potential market disruption regardless of network security upgrades.
This article contains links to third-party websites or other content for information purposes only (“Third-Party Sites”). The Third-Party Sites are not under the control of CoinMarketCap, and CoinMarketCap is not responsible for the content of any Third-Party Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Third-Party Site, or any changes or updates to a Third-Party Site. CoinMarketCap is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by CoinMarketCap of the site or any association with its operators. This article is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. It is important to do your own research and analysis before making any material decisions related to any of the products or services described. This article is not intended as, and shall not be construed as, financial advice. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s [company’s] own and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinMarketCap.
