{"id":79277,"date":"2026-10-09T09:39:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T09:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/over-500b-in-bitcoin-is-sitting-behind-keys-anyone-can-read\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T09:39:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T09:39:08","slug":"over-500b-in-bitcoin-is-sitting-behind-keys-anyone-can-read","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/over-500b-in-bitcoin-is-sitting-behind-keys-anyone-can-read\/","title":{"rendered":"Over $500B in Bitcoin Is Sitting Behind Keys Anyone Can Read"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Glassnode counts 6.26M BTC with exposed public keys, up from 24.8% of supply in early 2021 to 31.2% now.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">About 1.79M BTC held by exchanges is exposed, roughly 57% of identified exchange holdings.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Vitalik Buterin told holders on Oct. 8 not to scramble into new wallets despite rising AI warnings.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>How Much Bitcoin Is Exposed?<\/h2>\n<p>The number seems to be rising at a rapid pace, so much so that in a thread posted by Glassnode co-founder Rafael Schultze-Kraft, he pointed out that the figure <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/n3ocortex\/status\/2108179068482924745\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">currently stands at 6.26 million BTC<\/a>, or 31.2% of bitcoin\u2019s total supply. That is up from 24.8% in early 2021 and back at 2016 levels.<\/p>\n<p>Glassnode\u2019s own <a href=\"https:\/\/research.glassnode.com\/measuring-bitcoins-quantum-exposed-supply\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 2026 report<\/a> had counted 6.04 million BTC, or 30.2%, so roughly 220,000 more coins have joined the exposed pile in under five months.<\/p>\n<p>A Bitcoin address normally hides its public key behind a hash until the owner spends from it. Once that key is visible, a machine powerful enough to reverse the math, whether a quantum computer or something faster than expected, could in theory work backward to the private key.<\/p>\n<p>Coins behind a hidden key are not in that position.<\/p>\n<h2>Where Does the Exposure Come From?<\/h2>\n<p>The simple answer is \u2018address reuse,\u2019 which is when someone keeps receiving funds at an address that has already spent. That aspect alone accounts for <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/n3ocortex\/status\/2108179072647901323\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">4.33 million BTC at the moment<\/a>. Glassnode said that balance rose from 3.79 million over the past year and now <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/glassnode\/status\/2108314003936022889\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">covers 21.5% of circulating supply<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The other 1.94 million BTC is exposed by script type, including 1.71 million BTC in pay-to-public-key (P2PK) outputs, an early format that shows the key by design, of which 1.10 million is attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto. Another 222,000 BTC sits in Taproot outputs, which also reveal a key by default.<\/p>\n<p>Exchanges are also a big piece of the entire picture given that about <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WuBlockchain\/status\/2108413269769847264\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">1.79 million BTC held by exchanges have exposed keys<\/a> (or roughly 57% of identified exchange holdings). Lastly, Glassnode\u2019s May report found the split varies sharply by venue, i.e. Coinbase had only <a href=\"https:\/\/research.glassnode.com\/measuring-bitcoins-quantum-exposed-supply\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">5% exposed balances<\/a>, against 85% for Binance and 100% for Bitfinex.<\/p>\n<h2>Why Is Everyone Suddenly Talking About It?<\/h2>\n<p>Because the threat model just got shorter, Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake urged a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblock.co\/news\/defi\/2026-10-08-vitalik-buterin-warns-hasty-wallet-migrations-418007\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u201cbunker mode\u201d<\/a> this week, arguing that AI-accelerated mathematics could break the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) \u201cwithin months rather than years\u201d in a worst case. All of this is before any quantum computer even arrives on the scene.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, Bitcoin.com News recently covered how <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/crypto-news\/bunker-mode-crypto-experts-argue-ai-threat-bitcoin-ethereum\/\">experts split over that warning<\/a>, and Europol had raised its own <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/technology\/europol-warns-quantum-threat-could-put-crypto-fortunes-risk\/\">quantum-risk alarm<\/a> a day earlier.<\/p>\n<h2>Should Holders Move Coins Now?<\/h2>\n<p>Vitalik Buterin <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/VitalikButerin\/status\/2107976296320106851\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">believes there is no rush<\/a> and that he doesn\u2019t recommend anyone go scrambling \u201cto move their funds to new wallets today,\u201d while also adding that the risks from AI-accelerated math should be taken seriously. Moreover, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/coinbureau\/status\/2108336638900199791\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he also noted<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201d It is very easy to lose funds from a misconfigured rushed upgrade. I personally have lost more money in botched migrations than I have lost in all hacks.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Arthur Hayes also shares a similar line of thinking, with the Bitmex co-founder listing <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CryptoHayes\/status\/2108340680074650053\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u201cAI encryption FUD\u201d<\/a> next to the 2017 block size wars, COVID in 2020, and the 2023 FTX collapse as the latest fear a \u201cmega bull run\u201d has to climb.<\/p>\n<div class=\"not-prose my-3 lg:my-4\">\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden rounded-lg !bg-[#E8EDFA] p-[9px] hidden md:flex md:flex-row md:gap-3 lg:hidden\"><a aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"relative size-[150px] min-w-[150px] shrink-0 overflow-hidden rounded-[15px]\" href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/us-government-shifts-1-billion-in-bitcoin-94-million-in-tether\/\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"absolute left-2 top-2\"><img alt=\"Bitcoin.com News\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"size-7\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=32&amp;q=75 1x, \/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75\"\/><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden rounded-lg !bg-[#E8EDFA] p-[9px] hidden lg:flex lg:flex-row lg:gap-4\"><a aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"relative size-[150px] min-w-[150px] shrink-0 overflow-hidden rounded-[15px]\" href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/us-government-shifts-1-billion-in-bitcoin-94-million-in-tether\/\"><img alt=\"US Government Shifts $1 Billion in Bitcoin, $94 Million in Tether\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"object-cover\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent\" sizes=\"150px\" srcset=\"\/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F10%2Fus-government-shifts-1-billion-in-bitcoin-94-million-in-tether-150x150.png&amp;w=32&amp;q=75 32w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F10%2Fus-government-shifts-1-billion-in-bitcoin-94-million-in-tether-150x150.png&amp;w=48&amp;q=75 48w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F10%2Fus-government-shifts-1-billion-in-bitcoin-94-million-in-tether-150x150.png&amp;w=64&amp;q=75 64w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F10%2Fus-government-shifts-1-billion-in-bitcoin-94-million-in-tether-150x150.png&amp;w=128&amp;q=75 128w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F10%2Fus-government-shifts-1-billion-in-bitcoin-94-million-in-tether-150x150.png&amp;w=256&amp;q=75 256w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F10%2Fus-government-shifts-1-billion-in-bitcoin-94-million-in-tether-150x150.png&amp;w=384&amp;q=75 384w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F10%2Fus-government-shifts-1-billion-in-bitcoin-94-million-in-tether-150x150.png&amp;w=640&amp;q=75 640w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F10%2Fus-government-shifts-1-billion-in-bitcoin-94-million-in-tether-150x150.png&amp;w=828&amp;q=75 828w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F10%2Fus-government-shifts-1-billion-in-bitcoin-94-million-in-tether-150x150.png&amp;w=1080&amp;q=75 1080w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F10%2Fus-government-shifts-1-billion-in-bitcoin-94-million-in-tether-150x150.png&amp;w=1200&amp;q=75 1200w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F10%2Fus-government-shifts-1-billion-in-bitcoin-94-million-in-tether-150x150.png&amp;w=1920&amp;q=75 1920w\" src=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F10%2Fus-government-shifts-1-billion-in-bitcoin-94-million-in-tether-150x150.png&amp;w=1920&amp;q=75\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"absolute left-2 top-2\"><img alt=\"Bitcoin.com News\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"size-7\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=32&amp;q=75 1x, \/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75\"\/><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex min-w-0 flex-1 flex-col justify-center gap-2\">\n<p class=\"m-0 line-clamp-2 text-base leading-[1.3] !text-[#67656E]\">The U.S. government&#8217;s cryptocurrency shuffle isn&#8217;t over. Following two days of bitcoin transfers totaling $770 million, federal wallets moved another\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/security\/glassnode-bitcoin-exposed-public-keys-quantum-ai\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways Glassnode counts 6.26M BTC with exposed public keys, up from 24.8% of supply in early 2021 to 31.2% now. About 1.79M BTC held by exchanges is exposed, roughly 57% of identified exchange holdings. Vitalik Buterin told holders on Oct. 8 not to scramble into new wallets [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3947362404,"featured_media":79278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79277"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3947362404"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}