Glassnode Co-Founder Counts 6.26 Million BTC With Exposed Public Keys

Glassnode co-founder Rafael Schultze-Kraft estimates that 6.26 million BTC sit in addresses with publicly exposed spending keys, largely because they use legacy formats that reveal public keys when coins are spent. This does not mean those bitcoins are currently compromised: exposure creates a potential quantum-computing risk, not an immediate threat from today’s technology. The estimate highlights a long-term security challenge for Bitcoin, especially if quantum capabilities advance before vulnerable coins can migrate to safer address types.