Over 6 million bitcoin sit behind exposed public keys as AI warnings mount
In this news:
Key takeaways
- More than 6 million bitcoin sit behind public keys visible onchain.
- Exposed supply has increased by 222,000 BTC since May.
- Ethereum researcher Justin Drake warned that AI could potentially break wallet cryptography.
Scale of exposed bitcoin holdings
More than 6 bitcoin BTC$82,629.75 sit behind public keys already visible onchain, highlighting the scale of holdings potentially exposed if advances in AI or quantum computing undermine Bitcoin’s cryptography.
Those coins represent 31.2% of circulating supply, roughly 5 to 6% above the low reached in 2023, according to Glassnode data.
Glassnode co-founder Rafael Schultze-Kraft said exposed supply has increased by 222,000 BTC ($18.2 billion) since the firm’s May report, while total bitcoin supply grew by just 64,000 BTC.
Exchange and institutional distribution
Exchanges accounted for 123,000 BTC of that increase and now hold 1.79 million BTC behind visible public keys.
The proportions vary considerably. Coinbase’s exposed share stands at 10%, compared with 83% at Binance.
Beyond exchanges, Fidelity holds approximately 375,000 BTC with just 2% exposed. Grayscale’s share is 49%, Revolut’s 99% and Robinhood’s 100%. U.S., U.K. and El Salvador government holdings show no exposure under this methodology.
Cryptographic risks and AI warnings
Public keys can become visible through address reuse or appear directly in certain bitcoin output types, including early pay-to-public-key outputs and Taproot. A sufficiently capable quantum computer, or a hypothetical mathematical breakthrough could potentially allow an attacker to derive the corresponding private keys.
The update comes amid warnings from Ethereum researcher Justin Drake, who urged the industry to prepare for “bunker mode.” Drake argued that AI could potentially uncover a shortcut to breaking wallet cryptography “in months, not years” in a worst-case scenario, before quantum computers arrive.
Share the article:
Trending News & Crypto World
.png)
Latest Crypto News
Top Trending Cryptocurrencies on The Market
Current Price
$0.4005
Market Cap
$400.3M 0.73%
24h Volume
$11.6M
Supplies
1.5B / 1.5B
Current Price
$0.006524
Market Cap
$385.9M -12.77%
24h Volume
$1.8K
Supplies
95.0B / 100.0B
Current Price
$1.041
Market Cap
$380.1M -0.71%
24h Volume
$17.5M
Supplies
365.0M / ∞
Current Price
$2.173
Market Cap
$378.0M -0.15%
24h Volume
$62.7M
Supplies
281.5M / ∞
Current Price
$18.603
Market Cap
$373.9M 2.91%
24h Volume
$5.1M
Supplies
20.1M / 21.0M
Current Price
$0.08228
Market Cap
$373.4M 4.72%
24h Volume
$39.4M
Supplies
10.0B / ∞
Current Price
$0.000000386
Market Cap
$372.6M 4.68%
24h Volume
$10.8M
Supplies
990.0T / 990.0T
Current Price
$0.04453
Market Cap
$365.1M 5.92%
24h Volume
$8.0M
Supplies
10.0B / 10.0B
Current Price
$0.1079
Market Cap
$360.8M -3.99%
24h Volume
$8.0M
Supplies
10.0B / 10.0B
Current Price
$0.9870
Market Cap
$352.9M -1.26%
24h Volume
$6.5M
Supplies
357.6M / ∞
Current Price
$0.3785
Market Cap
$352.7M -0.36%
24h Volume
$4.8M
Supplies
931.0M / 1.0B
Current Price
$0.3163
Market Cap
$348.1M 0.80%
24h Volume
$7.3M
Supplies
1.1B / ∞