Bitcoin’s Future: Is Quantum Computing a Growing Threat?

On February 19, Microsoft introduced its latest quantum chip, Majorana 1. Google made a similar innovation in December 2024 with its Willow chip.

Bitcoin exchange River weighed in on February 20, suggesting that while quantum computing is not an immediate threat, progress in the field could speed up the need for stronger security measures.

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The company said, "The Majorana 1 chip is far from that scale now, but could reach the 1 million mark by 2027-2029 <...> When ran for several days to weeks, a 1-million qubit QC could potentially crack Bitcoin addresses via a long-range attack".

River also stated, "This breakthrough shortens the timeline to make Bitcoin quantum-resistant. Even if it’s a decade away, addressing vulnerabilities early is crucial".

River CEO Alexander Leishman acknowledged that quantum computing does not pose an immediate danger to Bitcoin. However, he disagreed with the argument that traditional banking would collapse before Bitcoin, pointing out that banks have multiple layers of security, such as password authentication and manual approval for large transactions.

Unlike traditional financial institutions, Bitcoin relies on cryptographic security. If a quantum attack were to happen, an attacker would only need access to a Bitcoin public key to exploit vulnerabilities.

Recently, Lightning Labs' CTO, Olaoluwa Osuntokun, disagreed that a security issue in the Lightning Network was caused by a software flaw. What did he say? Read the full story.