Quantum Threat to Bitcoin: How Panic Could Break Crypto Before Physics Does

Experts warn that the nearer-term quantum danger to Bitcoin may be panic and slow preparation, since a cryptographically relevant quantum computer is likely a decade or more away. Yoon Auh of BOLTS Technologies warned that a mistaken claim about quantum attacks could trigger a sell-off, citing a recent flash crash. Nic Carter noted that nearly a quarter of all Bitcoin, about 4 million coins, sits in addresses with exposed public keys. Rebecca Krauthamer of QuSecure said elliptic-curve cryptography must be replaced with post-quantum standards such as NIST's ML-DSA, while Scott Aaronson said upgrades are hard because Bitcoin would need a majority of miners to agree to a fork.