NEW YORK — A newly released whitepaper by Ark Invest and financial services company Unchained has revealed that 65.4% of the overall Bitcoin supply remains secure from a potential threat by quantum computers. The threat remains for one-third of the Bitcoin network’s overall assets. The whitepaper, named “Bitcoin and Quantum Computing,” was released on March 11, 2026. The release is a timely one, as the threat of quantum computing represents a shift from theoretical science to a potential threat to the digital finance sector.
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The 5W and 1H of the Quantum Threat
- Who: Ark Invest and Unchained, a financial services company that operates natively on the Bitcoin blockchain.
- What: The release of a whitepaper that revealed 34.6% of Bitcoin’s overall supply is at a potential threat from a future breakthrough in quantum computing and the exposure of public keys. The overall figure equates to 6.9 million Bitcoin.
- When: The release occurred in mid-March 2026 and referenced a potential breakthrough in Stage 3 by the mid-2030s.
- Why: The public keys on the blockchain can be converted back to private keys with the power of a strong quantum computer using Shor’s algorithm.
- How: The vulnerabilities are due to older address formats (P2PK), address reuse, and some Taproot (P2TR) addresses.
Breaking Down the Vulnerabilities
Three main groups of Bitcoin are vulnerable to the “long-term risk.” The largest group is 5 million BTC (25% of the total supply), which is movable but vulnerable due to address reuse. When an address is reused, the public key is visible on the blockchain. This allows a quantum computer to use the data to try to reverse the private key.
Another 1.7 million BTC (8.6% of the total supply) is contained in older Pay-To-Public-Key (P2PK) addresses. This is mostly the “Satoshi-era” coins mined in the first years of the existence of the Bitcoin blockchain. Unlike current addresses, the public key is revealed immediately when the coins are received instead of when they are spent.
Lastly, the report found 200,000 BTC (1% of the total supply) in Pay-to-Taproot (P2TR) addresses. Even though Taproot is a significant improvement for Bitcoin, it does allow for key paths that a quantum computer could use to try to hack the keys unless special security procedures are followed.
Market Context and Price Action
The news is announced against the backdrop of a volatile 2026 for Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency hit an all-time high of $126,021 in October 2025 but has since been subject to substantial sell-offs.
As of March 13, 2026, the price of Bitcoin is around $70,282. The current market is characterized by an “Extreme Fear” environment, as revealed by the Fear & Greed Index. This is due to the current tensions in the Middle East region and the decline of the global economy.
Bitcoin Price Performance (24H – March 13, 2026)
| Metric | Value |
| Current Price | $70,282.08 |
| 24h Change | -0.11% |
| Market Cap | $1.40 Trillion |
| 24h Volume | $37.89 Billion |
Related: Bitcoin Price Analysis 2026
Not an Imminent Crisis
The news may not be an imminent crisis, as revealed by a report from Ark Invest. This is a long-term risk rather than an imminent crisis. This is due to the fact that the breaking of the Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) technology used to secure Bitcoin will require a fault-tolerant quantum computer with thousands of logical qubits and millions of quantum gates. This technology is not yet available.
“These are the five stages of quantum development. We are currently in the ‘Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum’ era. This means error rates are too high to break 256-bit encryption. But the era of fault-tolerant quantum computers is on the horizon.”
The Path to Quantum Resistance
The Bitcoin community is already discussing possible measures to be taken to mitigate the risks. A possible solution is to implement a soft fork to implement Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) standards such as ML-DSA or SLH-DSA. A second possible solution is the implementation of the BIP-360 proposal to implement a “Pay-to-Merkle-Root” output type to protect keys within the Taproot environment.
Industry Reaction
The news has sparked a heated debate on social media. The community is rallying behind the cryptocurrency’s ability to adapt to the changes.
X (formerly Twitter) Buzz:
The general consensus among the development team is to “watch and wait” while R&D on quantum-resistant signature schemes continues. It is also recommended that users avoid reusing addresses and migrate their legacy funds to modern hashed address formats.
Disclaimer: BFM Times acts as a source of information for knowledge purposes and does not claim to be a financial advisor. Kindly consult your financial advisor before investing.
What did Ark Invest say about quantum computing and Bitcoin?
Ark Invest reported that about 34–35% of Bitcoin’s supply could theoretically be vulnerable to future quantum attacks if current cryptography is broken.
Why are some Bitcoin wallets vulnerable to quantum threats?
Older wallet types and reused addresses expose public keys, which advanced quantum computers could potentially use to derive private keys.
Is quantum computing an immediate threat to Bitcoin?
No, experts say the risk is long-term, and the Bitcoin network likely has years or decades to implement quantum-resistant upgrades.
