Europol warns that crypto-wallets are the main risk point for quantum attacks and recommends advancing anti-quantum migration in advance

Europol released two research reports on October 7, emphasizing the need to guard against the security challenges posed by quantum computing as soon as possible in the cryptocurrency field. According to its European Cybercrime Center, crypto-wallets, as a high-risk link of quantum threats, pose the risk of being parsed by quantum computers and stealing private keys, which may lead to unauthorized asset transfers. In contrast, the hash function used to connect blockchain nodes and support mining still has the basic ability to withstand quantum attacks under current technical conditions. The research team made it clear that although quantum computing may pose a potential threat to the cryptocurrency system, the overall system will not collapse. To this end, it is recommended to transition to an anti-quantum cryptographic scheme through a phased approach, and at the same time strengthen the wallet security mechanism and key management system. For wallets whose public keys have been disclosed in the blockchain, the report specifically proposes that asset migration should be completed before a quantum attack actually occurs. It is worth noting that the standardized implementation of post-quantum signature technology will expand the volume of Bitcoin's current ECDSA signatures by 10 to 120 times, which may cause problems such as increased block space occupation, increased transaction fees, and reduced confirmation efficiency. Another analysis report focuses on the "data archival attack" model, in which criminals obtain encrypted data in advance and decrypt it after quantum technology matures. It has not been found to have been used for systematic and large-scale criminal activities, but government communication data and confidential corporate information have been determined to be the asset types most likely to be targets of such attacks due to their high encryption strength.