The government of El Salvador has redistributed nearly 6,300 bitcoins, moving them from one address to 14 new ones. The total value of the assets is approximately 682 million USD.
This is reported by Finway
The Purpose of Redistribution — Protection Against Quantum Risks
As explained by state representatives, the main reason for this step was the desire to reduce potential risks associated with the emergence of powerful quantum computers. The Bitcoin Office of El Salvador emphasized that distributing assets among different addresses minimizes the consequences of a potential breach of private keys in the event of significant advancements in quantum technologies.
“This step minimizes the possible consequences of a breach of private keys in the event of sufficiently powerful quantum computers emerging.”
On-chain analysts report that the transfers took place on August 29, 2025. Prior to this, all state reserves were stored in a single address; however, now none of the new addresses contains more than 500 BTC. The authorities note that when using the funds, the public keys become public, which theoretically could lead to compromise through quantum algorithms.
Experts Assess the Reality of the Threat
The research company Project Eleven had previously indicated that over 6 million BTC could be at risk in the event of a breach of elliptic curve-based cryptography (ECC) by quantum computers. At the same time, scientists emphasize that such technologies are still very far from actual implementation. According to them, no modern quantum computer operating with Shor’s algorithm has been able to break even a three-bit key, while the Bitcoin network uses 256-bit cryptography.
Many well-known Bitcoin advocates consider concerns about the quantum threat to be exaggerated. For instance, co-founder of Strategy, Michael Saylor, emphasizes that if a real risk arises, the community will be able to update protocols and hardware, as leading technology companies around the world regularly do.
It is worth noting that the decision to redistribute assets was made against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations between El Salvador and the International Monetary Fund. According to the latest IMF report, the country has not made any new Bitcoin purchases since February 2025, despite government claims. In December 2024, an agreement was reached between the state and the IMF for financing amounting to 1.4 billion USD, which involves scaling back Bitcoin initiatives, but the details of the agreement have yet to be finalized by the parties.
Previously, El Salvador allowed investment banks to officially hold bitcoins and provide clients with cryptocurrency services.