El Salvador splits bitcoin holdings between 14 addresses to 'enhance security' against quantum threats

The National Bitcoin Office of El Salvador, which stewards the country's reserve of nearly 6,300 BTC, announced on Friday it split the reserve between 14 different addresses, to improve security, especially against quantum computing threats. 

Under the direction of pro-bitcoin President Nayib Bukele, the office claims to purchase one BTC every day and add it to the country's strategic bitcoin reserve. The reserve currently holds 6,284 BTC, worth more than $682 million at current prices, according to the office's website. Until Friday, the reserve was held in a single address. Following the announcement, the office's holdings were split between 14 new addresses, none containing more than 500 BTC, onchain data show. 

The move "aligns with best practices in Bitcoin management and prepares for potential developments in quantum computing," the office's announcement states. "Limiting funds in each address reduces exposure to quantum threats because an unused Bitcoin address with hashed public keys remains protected."

Quantum computing poses a potential threat to Bitcoin’s ECDSA signatures, and thus the network's security, though Bernstein analysts said last year that any practical threat to the world's most valuable cryptocurrency remains "decades away," The Block previously reported. 

The office's claims of Bitcoin purchases run counter to a signed statement from the country's central bank president and minister of finance, telling the IMF that El Salvador's public sector hasn't bought BTC since February of this year, under the terms of a loan agreement with the IMF. Neither Bukele nor his office has addressed the July IMF report directly, though the office continues to announce daily purchases on X.