A quantum computer could theoretically break the encryption that protects Bitcoin wallets. Even if the danger is not immediate, the real challenge will be to update software and infrastructure in time with the new protocols.
At least in theory, a quantum computer could break many of the cryptographic algorithms used to protect wallets, digital signatures and cryptocurrencies, quickly solving calculations that would take traditional processors thousands of years.
Real risk
The problem mainly concerns systems based on the so-called “elliptic curve cryptography”, also used by Bitcoin, and the risk is considered concrete to the point that NIST, the US body that defines computer security standards, has already published the first “post-quantum” encryption protocols in 2024.
Migration needed
This does not mean that cryptocurrencies are destined to collapse in the short term: current quantum computers are still too limited to put them into crisis, but the real issue is the time needed to update infrastructure and software before the technology matures. Because if it is true that the danger is not immediate, it could become so in the coming decades.
