At The Crypto Con, I don’t like to discuss hypothetical threats to cryptocurrency. If you invest in, trade, or use cryptocurrency to give a middle finger to THE MAN, you deserve to know the simple truth about what potential threats await you.
Quantum computing is one such threat. It is also a threat that divides many in the cryptoverse. This is because for Bitcoin alone to transition to one of several quantum computing-resistant encryption standards, Bitcoin will have to go down for 76 days. Either this or suffer a whopping 10 months of significantly slower transaction processing speeds.
That’s right. Bitcoin has to go down or become the most geriatric crypto on the market. Make no mistake, this also has to happen, and it has to happen sooner rather than later.
Bitcoin Needs to Address Quantum Computing Sooner Rather Than Later
As I made clear in my first article in The Crypto Con series, the cybersecurity landscape in which Bitcoin originally rose to prominence couldn’t be more different from the cybersecurity landscape of 2025.
Back in 2008, there were no known backdoors into almost every CPU on the market. At the same time, things like quantum computing were still largely theoretical concepts. Fast forward to today, and quantum computers aren’t just part of our computing reality. In addition, we even hear occasional rumors from Google that its own quantum chips are close to proving the reality of entire parallel universes.
Now, according to Decrypt, we are looking at a timeline where we have a maximum of 10 years to make Bitcoin quantum computing-resistant. However, some industry insiders believe that we may have just 3 or 4 years if we are lucky.
The First Quantum Computing Threat to Bitcoin Appeared in 1994
Why quantum computing is a threat to Bitcoin is simple. Bitcoin uses asymmetric cryptography to secure Bitcoin wallets and transactions. This involves users having a private cryptographic key known only to them, which secures their funds, as well as a public key that acts as an address to which funds can be sent.
What most people are not aware of is the fact that a quantum computing algorithm capable of breaking asymmetric cryptography was devised way back in 1994 by the mathematician Peter Shor. All that has been lacking since 1994 is a powerful enough quantum computer to run Shor’s algorithm.
Put as simply as possible, when we do have a quantum computer capable of running Shor’s algorithm, it will be able to crack the private keys of Bitcoin users. At that point, a quantum computing user will be able to transact the funds belonging to whatever private key they crack, as if those funds were their own.
Even if this were to happen just once, it would undermine the integrity of Bitcoin, resulting in Bitcoin itself quickly losing all value.
Why Does Bitcoin Need 76 Days of Downtime?
As anyone who has been part of the cryptoverse for a considerable amount of time knows, it is possible to upgrade basic blockchain protocols by forking a blockchain. This is where a snapshot of all wallets and in-progress transactions is taken before a new, upgraded blockchain takes over from where the last left off. However, getting Bitcoin quantum computing-ready won’t be nearly so simple.
According to the University of Kent’s School of Computing, it will realistically take 76 days of Bitcoin being down to secure the Bitcoin blockchain against known quantum computing threats. However, during this downtime, all existing resources (such as existing Bitcoin miners) would need to commit to performing necessary upgrades.
As we know, such a long downtime would likely see miners simply start mining other cryptocurrencies to maintain profits. The same University of Kent School of Computing study, therefore, suggests that Bitcoin might be able to devote just 25% of all network resources to performing necessary quantum upgrades. However, this would see upgrades take at least 305 days as opposed to 76.
Needless to say, if we only have 3 or 4 years for Bitcoin to become quantum-ready, it is crucial that developers decide on a 305-day or 76-day upgrade timeline as soon as possible.
It’s Not Just Bitcoin That Needs a Wee Holiday
If you are reading this as someone who is predominantly invested in altcoins or in the DeFi space as opposed to Bitcoin, you might feel giddy at the idea of Bitcoin taking a break from the crypto scene. However, it’s not just Bitcoin that needs to get its quantum computing act together. The same is true for Ethereum, as well as several other market-leading cryptocurrencies.
The only exceptions are coins like Cardano, which have been built specifically to be quantum computing-resistant.
Sadly, even when we talk about making cryptos like Bitcoin quantum computing-resistant, we omit the fact that we now also live in the age of AI, which, if it ever merges with quantum CPUs, will likely present challenges to security in the crypto space that, as yet, are impossible for mere humans to contemplate. After all, if we are still not able to thwart a quantum computing threat a mere human came up with in 1994, how the hell are we going to thwart quantum computing threats that AI dreams up tomorrow?