El Salvador Splits Bitcoin Reserves Into Multiple Wallets, Citing Quantum Threats and Security Concerns

El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office has announced a major restructuring of the country’s Bitcoin reserves, moving coins from a single wallet into multiple addresses, in what it called a strategic step to enhance long-term security and resilience against quantum threats.

The government currently holds 6,286 BTC, valued at roughly $686 million at today’s price of $109,204 per coin, according to Arkham Intelligence. President Nayib Bukele has long maintained that the state buys 1 BTC per day for its national reserve.

In an X post, the Bitcoin Office said the move addresses the theoretical risk of quantum computing breaking Bitcoin’s cryptography. Broadcasting a transaction makes the public key visible on-chain and, in theory, vulnerable to Shor’s algorithm. By splitting reserves into smaller chunks, no more than 500 BTC per address, El Salvador reduces its exposure.

“Once funds are spent from an address, its public keys are revealed and vulnerable. By splitting funds into smaller amounts, the impact of a potential quantum attack is minimized,” the office noted.

The government also unveiled a public dashboard to track its wallets, after previously keeping all funds in a single address “for transparency.”

The move comes amid heightened scrutiny from the IMF, which in July reiterated that El Salvador had agreed not to accumulate new Bitcoin as part of a $1.4 billion loan program. IMF officials insist recent blockchain activity merely reflects internal wallet shuffling. However, Bukele has dismissed IMF demands, insisting the country’s Bitcoin strategy “won’t stop.”

While polls suggest Salvadorans remain largely indifferent to Bitcoin, Bukele’s popularity remains strong due to his tough-on-crime policies. Yet the government’s latest move highlights the tension between national crypto ambitions and global financial oversight, and raises questions about whether El Salvador is quietly defying IMF terms by continuing its daily BTC purchases.

Editorial Note: This news article has been written with assistance from AI. Edited & fact-checked by the Editorial Team.

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