Why 1.7 million BTC are at risk
Bitcoin's security today relies on elliptic curve cryptography, which could be broken by Shor's algorithm on a sufficiently powerful quantum computer. That's not a new worry, but the threat is becoming more concrete. An estimated 1.7 million BTC in legacy pay-to-public-key addresses are particularly exposed because their public keys are visible on the blockchain. Once a quantum computer can derive a private key from a public key, those funds could be stolen. The timeline is uncertain, but the risk is real.
" Translation: "De ce 1,7 milioane de BTC sunt în pericol
Securitatea Bitcoin se bazează în prezent pe criptografia cu curbă eliptică, care ar putea fi spartă de algoritmul lui Shor pe un computer cuantic suficient de puternic. Nu este o îngrijorare nouă, dar amenințarea devine mai concretă. Se estimează că 1,7 milioane de BTC în adrese vechi de tip pay-to-public-key sunt deosebit de expuse, deoarece cheile lor publice sunt vizibile pe blockchain. Odată ce un computer cuantic poate deriva o cheie privată dintr-o cheie publică, acele fonduri ar putea fi furate. Termenul este incert, dar riscul este real.
" Note: "pay-to-public-key" is a term, keep as is or translate? It's a technical term, maybe keep in English but explain? In Romanian crypto context, often kept as "pay-to-public-key". I'll keep as "pay-to-public-key". Also "1.7 million BTC" -> "1,7 milioane de BTC" (Romanian uses comma as decimal separator? Actually in numbers, Romanian uses space or period? For millions, it's common to use space: "1,7 milioane" but careful: in English it's 1.7 million, in Romanian it's "1,7 milioane" with comma as decimal. But since it's a translation, I'll keep the number as "1.7 million" but in Romanian text it might be better to write "1,7 milioane". However, the original has "1.7 million" - I'll keep the dot as it's a number. Actually in Romanian, decimal is comma, but for English numbers in translation, sometimes they keep the dot. To be safe, I'll use "1,7 milioane" but the original says "1.7 million". I'll use "1,7 milioane" as it's Romanian. Similarly for $5M -> "5 milioane de dolari". I'll adjust. Third paragraph: "What the $5 million will fund
The grant program will back quantum-resistant transaction proposals, post-quantum signature schemes, tooling for wallet migration, and security audits. Galaxy Research also plans to publish analysis of the quantum threat and developer response, targeting investors, policymakers, and the technical community. The initiative isn't just about writing checks — it's about building a pipeline of solutions that can actually be deployed on Bitcoin's network.
" Translation: "Ce va finanța cei 5 milioane de dolari
Programul de granturi va sprijini propuneri de tranzacții rezistente la cuantică, scheme de semnături post-cuantice, instrumente pentru migrarea portofelelor și audituri de securitate. Galaxy Research intenționează, de asemenea, să publice analize ale amenințării cuantice și ale răspunsului dezvoltatorilor, vizând investitori, factori de decizie politică și comunitatea tehnică. Inițiativa nu înseamnă doar scrierea de cecuri – ci construirea unui flux de soluții care pot fi efectiv implementate pe rețeaua Bitcoin.
" Note: "quantum-resistant" -> "rezistente la cuantică" (or "rezistente la calculatoare cuantice"? "cuantică" is fine). "post-quantum signature schemes" -> "scheme de semnături post-cuantice". "tooling" -> "instrumente". "pipeline of solutions" -> "flux de soluții" or "conductă de soluții"? "pipeline" in tech often means "conductă" but here "pipeline of solutions" means a series/flow. I used "flux de soluții". Also "writing checks" -> "scrierea de cecuri" (idiomatic). Fourth paragraph: "The advisory council and the political push
Galaxy's Quantum Advisory Council includes Barry Sanders from the University of Calgary, Damien Bérubé from MIT Sea Grant, and Eran Tromer from Boston University. Their work builds on recent progress: BIP-360, a proposal from developer Hunter Beast that removes public-key exposure from standard transactions, merged into the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal repository in 2025. On the policy side, President Trump signed executive orders advancing U.S. quantum work, setting a 2031 federal deadline for post-quantum defense. NIST finalized its first post-quantum cryptographic standards in 2024. The political and technical timelines are converging.
" Translation: "Consiliul consultativ și impulsul politic
Consiliul Consultativ Cuantic al Galaxy include pe Barry Sanders de la Universitatea din Calgary, Damien Bérubé de la MIT Sea Grant și Eran Tromer de la Universitatea Boston. Munca lor se bazează pe progrese recente: BIP-360, o propunere a dezvoltatorului Hunter Beast care elimină expunerea cheii publice din tranzacțiile standard, a fost integrată în depozitul de Propuneri de Îmbunătățire Bitcoin în 2025. Pe partea de politici, președinte
