Coinbase Wants Bitcoin Ready for the Quantum Threat Now
Coinbase points to ECDSA and Schnorr risks and calls for post-quantum cryptography. Old wallets and inactive coins also get extra attention.
Key Takeaways
- Coinbase wants Bitcoin to start taking steps toward quantum security now, before quantum computers become a direct threat to wallets.
- The company warns that future quantum computers could theoretically undermine ECDSA and Schnorr, and is therefore calling for post-quantum cryptography.
- Coinbase wants a phased transition with flexible addresses, support for both old and new funds, and attention to inactive coins and migration from old wallets.
Coinbase wants Bitcoin to start preparing for quantum computers now, before they become a real threat to wallets. The Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange, which holds about 5% of all bitcoin for clients like banks, asset managers, and hedge funds, says the industry should not wait until the risk is actually here.
That fits into the broader discussion about security for digital assets. Wallet and transaction data can already reveal more than many users think, even aside from a future quantum threat.
Why Coinbase Is Warning Now
At its core, the question is whether a future quantum computer could be powerful enough to crack a bitcoin wallet and drain the coins. Coinbase points out that some estimates suggest such a machine could arrive within a few years, even though it does not exist today.
The company also explains why this matters technically. Bitcoin currently uses ECDSA and Schnorr for digital signatures. Those are safe with today’s computers, but a powerful enough quantum computer could theoretically derive a private key from a public key.
According to recent estimates, such a machine would need about 4,000 logical qubits, which translates to millions of physical qubits at current error rates. That mainly shows the threat is not immediate, but serious enough to start moving to post-quantum cryptography now.
What Coinbase Wants to Change
Coinbase says an upgrade needs to do more than just add a new type of signature. According to the company, Bitcoin must be able to protect both old and new funds, fit within the network’s limited space, and still remain usable for regular computers.
That is why the exchange is calling for flexible addresses and a phased transition. One possible intermediate step is a 1-of-2 setup, where a transaction can still be signed with either a classic key or a post-quantum key. That would let users switch earlier without forcing everyone to migrate at the same time.
Coinbase also wants Bitcoin to account for wallets that need to keep state, while making sure stateless alternatives always remain available too. The company also mentions robust software, good support for multi-party computation, and a plan for older wallet formats that still need to migrate later.
Old Coins Remain a Separate Problem
According to Coinbase, one tricky issue is what should happen with forgotten or long-inactive coins. Some old addresses already have public keys visible on the blockchain, which could make them extra vulnerable in a future with quantum computers.
The exchange wants that debate kept separate from the technical upgrade itself. That also matters for European crypto readers, because NIST already finalized three post-quantum standards in 2024 and the G7 Cybersecurity Working Group previously warned that organizations need to start the transition now. Coinbase also points to the risk of 'harvest now, decrypt later,' where attackers collect data or coins now for later use.
For Bitcoin, that mainly means the conversation about quantum security is no longer just theoretical. The question is not whether the industry should prepare, but how fast it can do so without leaving existing users behind.
