El Salvador Splits $678M Bitcoin Reserve Across 14 Wallets to Reduce Quantum Risk
El Salvador has redistributed its entire Bitcoin reserve — 6,274 BTC, valued at roughly $678 million — into 14 separate wallet addresses as a precaution against the potential future threat posed by quantum computing.
According to the country's Bitcoin Office, the funds were moved to limit exposure: once bitcoin is spent from an address its public key becomes known, and public keys could theoretically be targeted if quantum computers advance enough to break current elliptic curve cryptography. By dividing the holdings into smaller amounts, the government says the impact of any single compromise would be reduced.
Blockchain data shows the nation previously held the 6,274 BTC in a single address but transferred those funds into 14 new addresses on Friday. The Bitcoin Office added that each address now holds up to 500 BTC.
Independent researchers and firms have warned that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could threaten current cryptographic protections. One group estimated in April that millions of bitcoins might be at risk if such technology becomes capable of cracking elliptic curve keys. At the same time, many experts stress that quantum computing capable of breaking Bitcoin’s cryptography remains a distant prospect; no quantum computer has yet demonstrated the ability to break even trivially small keys.
Prominent bitcoin advocates have called concerns over quantum attacks premature, arguing that if a real threat emerges the ecosystem — including protocol developers and hardware manufacturers — would implement upgrades and mitigations through coordinated software and hardware changes.
The move comes amid ongoing scrutiny of El Salvador’s bitcoin program. An International Monetary Fund report in July asserted that the country had not made new bitcoin purchases since February, a claim the Bitcoin Office has not directly addressed while continuing to post about purchases on social media. In December 2024, El Salvador secured a $1.4 billion IMF funding agreement that included conditions related to scaling back some bitcoin initiatives, a point that has been the subject of disagreement between the government and the fund.
Industry commentators generally welcomed the transfer as a sensible risk-management step, noting it reflects growing attention to long-term security considerations even as the practical quantum threat remains speculative for now.
