Europol Warns That Quantum Attacks Pose a Major Risk to Crypto Wallets
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AT A GLANCE
Europol states that crypto wallets are the primary risk point for quantum threats and recommends a phased migration to post-quantum cryptographic systems.
Article
Europol warns: Crypto wallets are the primary risk point for quantum attacks; recommends advancing post-quantum migration in advance
BlockBeats News,October 7, Europol released reports calling on the crypto industry and policymakers to address quantum-computing threats in advance. Its European Cybercrime Centre noted that crypto wallets are the primary risk point for quantum threats: a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could derive private keys from exposed public keys, enabling the unauthorized transfer of assets. By contrast, the hash functions that link blocks and support mining remain largely resistant to quantum attacks.
The reports state that cryptocurrencies will not collapse because of quantum computing, but recommend a phased migration to post-quantum cryptographic systems and improvements to wallet security and key management. For wallets whose public keys have already been disclosed on-chain, the reports recommend moving funds before attacks occur. The reports also note that, once standardized, quantum signatures will be ECDSA signatures used by Bitcoin today 10 to 120 times larger, potentially increasing block-space pressure, raising transaction fees, and slowing confirmations.
The other report focuses on the "harvest now, decrypt later" risk, in which attackers first collect encrypted data and decrypt it once quantum technology matures. There is currently no clear evidence that this approach has been used systematically and at scale; government communications and confidential corporate data are considered the most likely targets.
Original link https://m.theblockbeats.info/flash/370617
Key points
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According to BlockBeats, Europol released reports calling on the crypto industry and policymakers to address quantum-computing threats in advance.
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The European Cybercrime Centre noted that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could derive private keys from exposed public keys and transfer assets without authorization.
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The reports state that the hash functions linking blocks and supporting mining remain largely resistant to quantum attacks.
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The reports state that cryptocurrencies will not collapse because of quantum computing, but recommend a phased migration to post-quantum cryptographic systems and improvements to wallet security and key management.
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The reports recommend that wallets whose public keys have already been disclosed on-chain move their funds before attacks occur.
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The reports note that, once standardized, quantum signatures will be ECDSA signatures used by Bitcoin today 10 to 120 times larger, potentially increasing block-space pressure, raising transaction fees, and slowing confirmations.
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The other report discusses the "harvest now, decrypt later" risk and states that there is currently no clear evidence that this approach has been used systematically and at scale.
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Government communications and confidential corporate data are considered the most likely targets of "harvest now, decrypt later."
AI-assisted interpretation
The following is analysis, separate from reported facts. Verify important claims independently.
Wallets use public and private keys to control assets. The risk described in the material is that, if sufficiently powerful quantum computers emerge in the future, attackers may use already disclosed public keys to derive private keys and subsequently transfer assets. The reports therefore recommend adopting post-quantum cryptographic systems in advance and prioritizing wallets whose public keys have already been disclosed. However, new signatures may be larger, and following migration they may consume more block space and affect transaction fees and confirmation speeds.
Why it matters to readers
This concerns whether assets in wallets can continue to be held securely, as well as potential pressure on capacity, fees, and confirmation speeds when blockchains upgrade to post-quantum signatures. The material also indicates that this is a risk requiring advance preparation, rather than a confirmed large-scale attack.
Beginners should understand that the key risks concern wallet keys and public-key exposure. The material recommends improving wallet security and key management, but provides no specific wallet-operation steps; do not rush to transfer assets based solely on this account.
Risks and unknowns
The material is BlockBeats' account of the reports and does not include the full text of either report, so its specific scope and technical conditions cannot be verified.
The material does not state when a sufficiently powerful quantum computer might emerge, nor does it demonstrate that private keys can currently be derived from public keys.
Related Developments
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There is currently no clear evidence that “harvest now, decrypt later” is already being exploited systematically and on a large scale.
The material does not specify which particular wallets, public blockchains, or institutions have already planned or completed a post-quantum migration.
Related concepts
Public key
The key in a key pair that is available to the recipient and is used to verify the validity of the sender’s digital signature.
