A new Federal Reserve study warns that quantum computers could one day unlock the private history of Bitcoin and other blockchain networks, exposing transaction data once thought to be forever secure. The report, titled “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later,” says the risk is not distant, — it is already active today as attackers quietly collect encrypted data, waiting for the moment when future quantum machines can break it. The analysis, published by the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, centers on a threat researchers call “harvest now, decrypt later,” or HNDL. It’s a simple concept, but could have far-reaching effects. HNDL simply means that adversaries can download or intercept encrypted information today, store it, and later use a sufficiently powerful quantum computer to reveal its contents. The study finds that distributed ledgers like Bitcoin are particularly vulnerable because their entire transaction histories are public, permanent, and based on cryptographic methods that quantum computers are expected to defeat.

Full report : A Federal Reserve study warns that quantum computers could one day decrypt Bitcoin’s historical transactions, exposing private data recorded under current encryption standards.