Bitcoin Quantum Risk Hits 6M BTC, Glassnode Maps The Exposure
Roughly 6.04 million Bitcoin (BTC), or 30.2% of issued supply, sit in addresses where public keys are already visible on-chain. Glassnode Maps 30% Quantum Exposure On-chain analytics firm Glassnode published the figures on May 20 in a report mapping which Bitcoin holdings could face future quantum computing risk. The methodology hinges on a single test. A coin is classified as exposed at rest when the public key needed to spend it has already appeared on the blockchain. Glassnode split the 6.04 million coins into two buckets. Structural exposure, tied to script types that reveal the key by design, covers 1.92 million BTC. Operational exposure, driven by address reuse and partial spending, accounts for 4.12 million BTC. That second figure is 2.1 times larger than the structural bucket, and points to behavior rather than protocol design. The remaining 13.99 million BTC, around 69.8% of issued supply, shows no public-key exposure under the firm's framework. Also Read: Twenty One Capital Becomes Tether's Bitcoin Arm As SoftBank Walks Away Exchange Wallets Concentrate The Risk Exchange-held coins represent the largest labeled subset inside the operational bucket, with about 1.66 million BTC, or 8.3% of total supply. That accounts for roughly 40% of all operationally exposed Bitcoin. Glassnode noted that close to half of labeled exchange balances fall into the susceptible category, against less than 30% for non-exchange supply. Entity-level differences are wide. Coinbase balances show only 5% exposure, while Binance sits at 85% and Bitfinex reaches 100% under the same methodology. Among other holders, Fidelity and CashApp register near 2%, Grayscale around 50%, and both Robinhood and WisdomTree at 100%. Sovereign treasuries in the US, the UK, and El Salvador show 0% exposure. Why Address Hygiene Now Matters Researchers framed the report as a baseline measurement rather than a forecast. The firm took no position on when, or whether, a Cryptographically Relevant Quantum Computer capable of running Shor's algorithm will arrive. The practical takeaway sits with custodians. Address rotation, reduced key reuse, and migration planning are the levers that can pull operational exposure lower without protocol-level changes. Bitcoin's quantum debate has surfaced repeatedly through 2026. Google Quantum AI released a related paper on elliptic-curve cryptocurrency security in Mar., and BIP-360 has proposed a Pay-to-Merkle-Root output type as a voluntary migration path for affected holders. Read Next: Security Experts Pour Cold Water On Claude Mythos Hacking Apocalypse
Goldman Sachs Walks Away From XRP, Solana In Sharp Q1 Crypto Reset
Goldman Sachs fully exited its $154 million XRP (XRP) ETF position and walked away from its Solana (SOL) holdings in the first quarter, regulatory data shows. Goldman Sachs Empties Altcoin ETFs In Q1 Filing The Wall Street bank disclosed the moves in its Form 13F filing, a quarterly snapshot that institutional managers above $100 million in assets must submit to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The bank cleared every share across Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, and 21Shares XRP funds, alongside its full Solana book. Its Solana exposure had reached roughly $108 million across products from Bitwise, Fidelity, Grayscale, VanEck, Franklin and 21Shares before the wipe. Goldman also trimmed its Ethereum (ETH) ETF position by about 70%, leaving close to $114 million on the books, while keeping more than $700 million parked in spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs. The bank separately disclosed a new stake in Hyperliquid Strategies, worth roughly $3.33 million. Also Read: XRP Whale Flow Drops 50%, But Options Calls Tell A Different Story Analysts Read The Tactical Pullback Crypto analyst Merlijn framed the rebalance as a conviction statement that separated the winners from the losers across the bank's digital asset book. Bloomberg Intelligence had already flagged Goldman's late-2025 XRP build-up as trading-desk facilitation rather than directional conviction. The Q1 exit appears to confirm that read. Broader ETF demand has held up despite the pullback. XRP ETFs pulled in a 2026 high of about $84 million in May, while Solana products gathered roughly $103 million over the same stretch. XRP And Solana Performance In Recent Weeks The Q1 exit came as both tokens slid through a sharp drawdown. XRP is down more than 26% year to date and Solana has lost over 30%, with Bitcoin and Ether off 10% and 28%, respectively. Goldman's overall crypto book is now roughly seven-eighths Bitcoin, a split observers have read as a benchmark consolidation rather than a retreat from digital assets. Bloomberg data also showed only 16% of XRP ETF assets sat with 13F filers at the end of last year, meaning retail capital still carries most of the load. Read Next: Twenty One Capital Becomes Tether's Bitcoin Arm As SoftBank Walks Away
Bitcoin Demand Crashes To 4-Month Low, Risks Deep Consolidation Phase
Demand for Bitcoin (BTC) has collapsed to a four-month low as the largest cryptocurrency struggles below $80,000, raising the odds of a prolonged consolidation phase. Bitcoin Apparent Demand Hits 4-Month Trough Demand readings have weakened sharply over recent days, with the apparent demand metric tracked by Capriole Investments sliding to -3,138 BTC. That marks its weakest reading since mid-January, arriving as BTC stalled under heavy resistance just above the $80,000 mark. CryptoQuant said in its latest Weekly Crypto report that overall demand has tipped into net contraction, with spot demand shrinking faster than in prior weeks. US spot exchange-traded funds have piled on the pressure. Products tracked by SoSoValue shed roughly $979.7 million in the week ended May 19, layered on top of around $1 billion in outflows the previous week, ending a six-week run of inflows that had supported the spring rally. Also Read: Bitcoin Bulls Wake Up At $77,500, Yet The Macro Math Looks Brutal Glassnode Flags Bear-Market Risk Glassnode noted that the 30-day change in ETF holdings has dropped to its lowest level in roughly three months, signaling that outright spot demand is becoming less aggressive near the range highs. Bitcoin's 38% rally from a $60,000 macro low to $82,800 lifted prices above the true market mean, currently near $78,300, a model that tracks the average acquisition cost of actively transacted supply. Glassnode analysts argue reclaiming this level is necessary but not sufficient for a structural shift, since pre-bull phases historically need weeks or months of consolidation around the mean before any regime change can be confirmed. A deeper correction from here would reframe the recent rally as a local top inside an ongoing bear market. What CoinDesk Reports On Buyer Fatigue Analysts flagged that CryptoQuant's Bull Score Index has slipped from 40 to 20, a level the firm labels extremely bearish. The three pillars of the spring rally, leveraged futures buying, spot accumulation, and US ETF inflows, have all weakened in tandem. Other analysts point to fading momentum, softer retail participation, and aggressive futures selling, with some warning BTC could test $65,000 if the $78,000 floor breaks. Bitcoin has been trapped in a wide corridor since November 2025, when it slid from a $126,200 all-time high before bottoming near $60,000 in February. The asset then staged a roughly 38% rebound through April, only to stall under the 200-day moving average near $82,400 throughout May. Read Next: Twenty One Capital Becomes Tether's Bitcoin Arm As SoftBank Walks Away