Are Quantum Computers a Threat to Crypto?

There have been several reports of the damage quantum computing can do to cryptocurrency—especially with the United States election looming. But are these threats truly something to worry about?

Quantum computing and cryptocurrency both work to solve similar problems, though they are also adversaries that can damage the others growth. That being said, it is becoming increasingly obvious that these two technologies must work together in order for humans to flourish. Keep reading to learn more.

What is Quantum Computing?

Quantum computers are a type of technology which uses quantum physics in order to solve mathematical equations. While this technology is very similar to that employed by blockchain technology, Quantum computers can solve problems much faster than current computers using the applied quantum physics principles.

Quantum computers function using quantum bits instead of binary bits and multiple piece of data can be plugged into a computer at the same time. Although there is still only one solution, quantum mechanics allow a lot of options to be explored in a single algorithm instantaneously. Information processed by a quantum computer is not readable using our current technologies.

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Why Do People Think Quantum Computing is a Threat to Cryptocurrency?

In October 2024, Chinese researchers reportedly were able to break the RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) encryption using a quantum computer, which is widely considered to the the safest of its kind. Reportedly, after breaking this encryption, they were able to gain access to high level financial accounts as well as Chinese military secrets.

Currently, there is an investigation into this occurrence, though the researchers involved are refusing to speak more on the topic. Thus, while many around the world are panicking about quantum computing, but it’s important to note that none of what they have claimed has been confirmed yet. Plus, this isn’t the first time Chinese researchers have cried wolf about quantum computations and then later been unable to show their work or produce a similar result.

If it is confirmed, there will be widespread panic, especially in the financial system as most large banks rely on the RSA method of encryption.

It is also worth noting that the concerning experiment was carried out with a D-wave computer which is really a proto-type of quantum computers only able to perform specific tasks they are programmed for.

How is Quantum Computing a Threat to Cryptocurrency?

Quantum computing is able to solve mathematical problems at a rate which is almost unbelievable even to the modern mathematician. As such, its main threat to cryptocurrency is that it could undo modern encryption in the blink of an eye—which would allow anyone with a quantum computer to be able to hack modern blockchains.

But before you panic, know that cryptocurrency isn’t the only industry that quantum computers will upturn. Rather, any computer or technology system using modern encryption will find themselves in a tough spot.

That being said, we do believe that quantum computing could be a threat to cryptocurrency—eventually. It could, based on the proposed functions, be used to find the large prime numbers used in Bitcoin and similar encryptions. But quantum computing is still in its advent, and though one research team was reportedly able to break a premium method of encryption, this doesn’t mean that criminals will have access to quantum computers and start breaking into blockchains tomorrow.

This incident has been a bit of a wakeup call to the cryptocurrency community however, and we hope that going forward, cryptocurrency creators will be able to create quantum-proof encryption algorithms for their blockchains.

What This Means for Crypto

No matter how you look at it, quantum computing is a threat to cryptocurrency, especially those like Bitcoin which have creators that have stepped back from the project and no new evolutions are being made. But, while this can be a scary thought, it’s important to know that the true danger of quantum computing is a long way off.

But while Bitcoin can’t undergo the necessary changes to become impenetrable by quantum computers, many other blockchains can. In fact, Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum, has already proposed a hard fork to Ethereum that would solve the problem. It would require new wallet downloads, but Buterin states that investor funds would (for the most part) remain safe.

Although the Ethereum hard-fork isn’t read to execute yet, you can rest easy at night knowing the Buterin and his team are working on it—and they aren’t the only ones. Many blockchain firms around the world have long been working to make quantum-proof blockchains.

Many scientists worry though, that quantum computing isn’t the only worry of the future of cryptocurrency however, as generative AI could also make it more difficult to protect blockchains. Generative AI makes DDOS attacks more common and makes it easy for bots to hack customer accounts via guessing weak passwords.

Thus, companies can’t just focus on defending against quantum computing in the future of blockchain.

What Can You Do to Protect Your Crypto?

Ultimately, there isn’t anything you can do to protect your crypto from quantum computing. This is something which has to be done on the development side. However, if you are still using wear passwords, it’s time to upgrade, as generative AI could easily hack many password protected accounts. In general, the longer the password is, the better.

Additionally, if you are truly worried about quantum computing, it’s worthwhile to only invest in crypto on a CeFi platform which adheres to banking laws—meaning if they are subject to an attack, they would have to replace your funds up to an insured amount.

Other than this, there isn’t really anything that can be done about quantum computing, but don’t panic either, as blockchain companies are rapidly researching a solution, and many of the current threats are unproven. We just hope that solutions will be implemented before it is time to truly panic about the effects of quantum computing on the future of blockchain technology.

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