Europol Warns Crypto Wallets, Not Blockchains, Are Exposed To Future Quantum Attacks

Europol, the European Union's law enforcement agency, says the wallets people use to hold cryptocurrency are the main point of exposure to future quantum-computing attacks, CoinDesk reported on Wednesday.

Anyone who holds bitcoin or other coins, on an exchange or in a personal wallet, falls within the warning.

Machines capable of such attacks do not exist yet, and Europol did not predict when they will. The agency said adapting early, rather than a systemic collapse, is the most likely outcome, according to CoinDesk.

Wallets, Not Blockchains, Carry the Risk

Crypto Briefing said Europol published two reports on October 7 through its European Cybercrime Centre. Both name wallets as the primary weak spot if quantum computing becomes a practical attack tool.

A wallet works through a private key that authorizes spending and a public key that others can see. Europol's concern is that an advanced quantum computer could run Shor's algorithm, a method for solving the math problems behind much of public-key cryptography.

That could let an attacker work out a private key from an exposed public key and move funds without permission.

CoinDesk said Europol drew a line between wallets and the hash functions that help secure a blockchain. The agency's report concluded that cryptocurrencies will not collapse because of quantum computing.