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Will Quantum Computers Spell the End of Bitcoin? We’ve Gathered Everything We Know

source-logo  en.bitcoinsistemi.com 2 h
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The recent heated debate in the cryptocurrency world about whether quantum computers will end Bitcoin has divided experts.

While some analysts see this as an imminent risk, engineers argue that the threat is exaggerated and that solutions are already in place.

Quantum computing, one of the biggest theoretical threats to Bitcoin’s technological infrastructure, has once again become a hot topic in financial markets. The steps taken by tech giants like Google, IBM, and Microsoft in quantum hardware have raised the question: “Can the mathematical protection of Bitcoin wallets be broken?”

On one side of the debate are figures like Nick Carter, who claims that quantum computers could solve Bitcoin’s Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECDSA) as early as 2028. According to Carter, the developers’ slow pace in this area worries institutional investors (BlackRock, Fidelity, etc.), and this could lead to institutional intervention in the network in the future.

On the other hand, experts like Blockstream CEO Adam Back and software engineer Brandon Black argue that the threat is at least 20 to 40 years away. Black claims that today’s most advanced quantum machines have about 1,000 “noisy physical qubits,” but it would take approximately 13 million error-free logical qubits to crack a Bitcoin key in a single day.

One of the most critical details highlighted in the report is that not every Bitcoin wallet carries the same level of risk. According to Brandon Black, if a user adheres to “address purification” rules and hasn’t publicly shared their public key on the network, quantum computers cannot directly attack that wallet.

Those at greatest risk are legacy addresses, like Satoshi Nakamoto’s old wallets, whose public keys are publicly visible on the blockchain.

Experts, reminding us that Bitcoin is not a static structure, point out that the network has successfully undergone major updates before (SegWit, Taproot). Quantum-resistant address formats (such as BIP 360) are already being discussed within the community.

Furthermore, the fact that institutions with massive Bitcoin reserves, such as Michael Saylor’s company MicroStrategy, are launching quantum security programs demonstrates just how strong the financial incentives are for protecting the network.

*This is not investment advice.

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