Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has expressed concern that advances in quantum computing could eventually crack lost Bitcoin wallets and bring previously inaccessible coins back into circulation, including an estimated 1.1 million Bitcoins owned by Satoshi Nakamoto.
Bitcoin’s anonymous founder once noted that “lost coins make everyone else’s coins a little more valuable.” But Ardoino suggests that if Satoshi Nakamoto is not alive, those coins may not remain lost forever as quantum technology advances.
While he believes quantum computing is still “a long way” from posing a direct threat to Bitcoin’s security, he predicts the network will eventually adopt quantum-resistant addresses before it becomes a real problem. Bitcoin’s current security is based on elliptic curve cryptography, which some experts warn quantum computers could break within the next decade.
Pierre-Luc Dallaire-Demers, a visiting scientist at the University of Calgary, estimates that commercial quantum computers capable of cracking Bitcoin’s cryptographic keys could emerge in as little as five years. If true, that could restore access to more than 3.5 million Bitcoins long thought lost due to forgotten private keys or misplaced wallets.
*This is not investment advice.
Source: https://en.bitcoinsistemi.com/tether-ceo-claims-quantum-computers-could-hack-satoshi-nakamotos-wallets-and-take-his-btc-if-satoshi-is-not-alive/