Pantera’s Franklin Bi says Wall Street is far less prepared for quantum computing than most people think

Writing on X in response to Justin Drake’s announcement that the Ethereum Foundation (EF) had created a dedicated post-quantum cryptography team, Franklin Bi, a general partner at Pantera Capital, challenged conventional assumptions about which sector is better positioned for the quantum transition.

“People are over-estimating how quickly Wall Street will adapt to post-quantum cryptography,” he wrote. “Like any systemic software upgrade, it’ll be slow & chaotic with single points of failure for years.”

Quantum computing continues to advance from a theoretical field to practical applications, and as more progress is being made, so is the attendant threat it poses to financial systems.

Quantum computers capable of breaking current encryption standards could expose the cryptographic foundations protecting everything from bank transactions to blockchain wallets.

Just this month, Christopher Wood, the global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, reported that he removed Bitcoin from his model portfolio. A long-term proponent for BTC’s attractiveness as a hedge against monetary debasement, the Greed & Fear newsletter author said he made the move in advance of quantum computing threats to the foundations of Bitcoin’s investment case.

Pantera’s Bi favors blockchain networks over traditional financial institutions

Bi favors blockchain because of what he calls the “unique ability of blockchains to enact a system-wide software upgrade at global scale.”

He pointed to Ethereum’s successful transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake in 2022—known as “The Merge”—as evidence of decentralized networks‘ readiness.

According to an earlier Cryptopolitan report, Justin Drake revealed the formation of a post-quantum team led by Thomas Coratger, elevating quantum resistance to a top priority for the blockchain.

The foundation is backing the initiative with two $1 million prizes and has already begun running multi-client post-quantum consensus test networks, with bi-weekly developer sessions now underway.

Research from Chainalysis showed that approximately $718 billion in Bitcoin addresses remain vulnerable to quantum attacks using current cryptographic schemes.

Is Wall Street ready for the quantum era?

While major institutions like JPMorgan and HSBC have initiated quantum-safe pilot programs, industry surveys reveal concerning gaps.

A recent study found that 65% of businesses claim quantum readiness, but most boards remain at the awareness stage rather than being in the active implementation phase.

The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center warned against “crypto-procrastination” in a white paper.

Europol’s Quantum Safe Financial Forum highlighted the complexity of coordinating changes across vendors, legacy systems, and international regulatory frameworks.

Dean Yoost, former MUFG Union Bank board member, noted that artificial intelligence concerns are crowding out quantum preparedness at the board level, despite the existential nature of the cryptographic threat.

The Bank for International Settlements and the European Central Bank have both issued warnings about systemic risks from delayed action.

Traditional systems, as Bi noted, are “only as strong as their weakest links,” and the banking sector’s dependence on interconnected third-party vendors and central banks creates multiple vulnerability points and dependencies.