Cryptoupdated 1h ago2 min read
Nine Crypto Companies Form Quantum Alliance To Prepare For Quantum Attacks On Bitcoin
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Quantum Alliance of nine crypto firms formed to prepare for quantum attacks on Bitcoin 6.4 million BTC could be exposed; 2028 timing debated; asset moves or freezes contested
9 outlets told this the same way.
Quantum Alliance and 6.4M
Nine crypto companies launched the Quantum Alliance to jointly prepare for quantum attacks on bitcoin and other blockchain networks, while disagreeing on when the threat will arrive and whether vulnerable BTC should be frozen. The Quantum Alliance estimates that 6.4 million bitcoin, or 30.2% of the supply, have public keys already exposed, and it says those coins cannot be stolen this way today because no existing quantum computer is yet powerful enough.
Christopher Smith, CEO of quantum-resistant layer-1 blockchain Quantus, said the first party to obtain a cryptographically relevant quantum computer could take those tokens, telling CoinDesk, “The most likely scenario is that whoever gets the first CRQC (Cryptographically Relevant Quantum Computer) will take them, probably with the blessing of whichever national government.” Bryn Bennett, chief revenue officer at The Vault, said the timing is uncertain but the risk is something custodians can already plan for, adding, “Nobody knows the date, but the estimates keep falling, and the risk is one we can already plan for.”
Freeze vs Move Debate
The Quantum Alliance and related industry discussions centered on whether developers should freeze vulnerable assets before quantum computers can reach them, with proposals raising concerns about property rights and network neutrality.
Richard Carback, chief technology officer of Postquant Labs, said he prefers that vulnerable coins be moved rather than frozen, while Bennett argued that freezing would be a governance decision for the Bitcoin network rather than the industry.
Bennett told CoinDesk, “A custodian protects its clients’ assets, not abandoned ones. Freezing coins is a governance decision for the Bitcoin network, not for the industry.”
Carback disagreed on timing, saying he believes 2028 is a realistic date for a machine capable of breaking today’s cryptography, while the Quantum Alliance work also aims to develop standards to help blockchains adopt quantum-resistant security.
Google’s Results, Coinbase’s Plan
Google’s Willow processor work reduced quantum computing errors by 40 times using magic state cultivation, and the company reported 99.99% logical fidelity while testing purified quantum states on real computing hardware. The CCN account said the experiment did not demonstrate a computer capable of stealing Bitcoin or establish a deadline for when such attacks might become possible, even as it advanced technology researchers believe could eventually challenge the cryptography protecting Bitcoin.
Coinbase laid out a transition strategy that it said should protect exposed and newly created funds, fit Bitcoin’s scarce block space, preserve independent resource-bounded validation by full nodes, and support ordinary wallets, in a wish list it published as “We believe a comprehensive transition strategy would ideally protect exposed and newly created funds, fit Bitcoin’s scarce block space, preserve independent resource-bounded validation by full nodes, work in institutional custody, support ordinary wallets, and give the ecosystem a credible migration path for coins that cannot or will not move.” Coinbase also argued that legacy funds are “best treated as a separate governance and engineering problem,” and it said legacy funds include coins held in early address types with permanently exposed public keys, including Satoshi’s.