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Quantum computers may breach Bitcoin sooner than anticipated, according to Google., 2026/03/31 12:13:43
Analysts at Google have concluded that significantly less computational power may be required to successfully attack the Bitcoin network than previously thought.
According to their estimates, a quantum computer would need approximately nine minutes to compromise a single transaction—this is quicker than the average transaction confirmation time within the Bitcoin network. The likelihood of successfully intercepting the transferred funds is estimated to be around 41%.
The mechanism of a potential attack relies on the operational characteristics of the Bitcoin network. At the moment a transaction is sent, the public key is temporarily exposed, specialists from Google assert. They indicate that a quantum computer can exploit this brief vulnerability window by swiftly calculating the private key from the public one and redirecting the funds to another address before the transaction is confirmed on the network.
An important detail: part of the calculations is performed on the quantum computer in advance. This significantly reduces the time required for the final breach and shifts the critical phase of the attack to the moment the transaction is initiated.
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Google experts estimate that approximately 6.9 million BTC could be vulnerable, which is nearly one-third of the total existing Bitcoin supply. This category includes about 1.7 million BTC mined in the early years of the network—many of these coins are stored at addresses with known public keys, making them particularly appealing targets for attackers.
Additionally, funds in any wallets where addresses are reused are also at risk. The reuse of addresses exposes public keys and renders them targets for quantum attacks, analysts warned.
Google perceives a potential threat from an update known as Taproot, which has made public keys in the blockchain visible by default. This expands the potential risk area for quantum computing, as it increases the amount of data available for analysis and, consequently, the number of points that can be attacked by quantum computers, the analysts explained.
Previously, Alex Thorn, head of research at the American firm Galaxy Research, stated that the risk of Bitcoin being hacked by quantum computers is greatly exaggerated, as the development of such powerful computers is still a long way off.
