Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, El Salvador splits up 6,274 BTC holdings into 14 new addresses to lower risk of quantum attack, the Ethereum Foundation paused its open grant applications, and Avalanche led blockchain activity with a 66% weekly jump to 11.9 million transactions.

El Salvador splits $678M Bitcoin across 14 wallets to reduce quantum risk

El Salvador has redistributed its Bitcoin reserve holdings into 14 new wallet addresses as a precaution against potential quantum computing threats.

“By splitting funds into smaller amounts, the impact of a potential quantum attack is minimized,” El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office said in an X post Friday, adding that each new Bitcoin address holds up to 500 BTC.

The Bitcoin Office explained that once funds are spent from a Bitcoin address, its public keys are revealed and vulnerable — making it a target for quantum computers to crack — should the technology evolve into a significant threat in the future.

More than 6 million Bitcoin — worth around $650 billion — could be at risk if quantum computers become powerful enough to crack elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) keys, quantum research company Project Eleven said in April.

However, quantum computing is still far away from being capable of hacking Bitcoin, it said, nothing that a Bitcoin private key contains 256-bits, and no quantum computer running Shor’s algorithm has managed to even crack a 3-bit key yet.

Faced with application influx, Ethereum Foundation pauses open grant submissions

After funding hundreds of projects with millions of dollars, the Ethereum Foundation is temporarily pausing the Ecosystem Support Program’s (ESP) open grant application process to refocus on a more proactive funding model that is better aligned with the ecosystem’s strategic needs.

The transition comes as the foundation faces challenges reviewing the high volume of inbound applications, which it said has left “limited capacity to pursue new strategic opportunities.” 

In a Friday blog post, the Ethereum Foundation stressed that the ESP will continue funding new projects, but under a refined approach to grantmaking. More details are expected in the fourth quarter, including a curated methodology outlining specific ecosystem priorities.

In 2024, ESP awarded nearly $3 million across 105 projects and initiatives, supporting areas such as developer tooling, data and analytics, research and education. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, the Ethereum Foundation distributed $32.6 million in total grants.

Avalanche leads blockchain transaction growth amid US gov’t implementation

Avalanche has emerged as the week’s fastest-growing blockchain, outpacing rivals in transaction growth. The smart contract-focused network, designed to boost scalability and usability, is increasingly gaining traction among both investors and institutions.

According to crypto analytics firm Nansen, Avalanche transactions jumped more than 66% over the past week, crossing 11.9 million transactions across 181,300 active addresses. This sharp rise highlights a surge in user engagement and network utility.

The momentum is further fueled by fresh catalysts, including the US government’s adoption of Avalanche technology and renewed ETF filings tied to its native AVAX token. Together, these developments are strengthening investor confidence and consolidating Avalanche’s position as a leading blockchain network.