Lost bitcoins, including approximately 1 million BTC belonging to Satoshi Nakamoto, will be hacked and returned to circulation, according to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.
Prediction.
Quantum computing is still very far from any meaningful risk of breaking Bitcoin cryptography.
Quantum resistant addresses will eventually be added to Bitcoin before there is any serious threat.All people alive (and that have access to their wallets) will move…
— Paolo Ardoino ?? (@paoloardoino) February 8, 2025
The executive believes that quantum computing is a distant prospect. By that time, all users with access to their wallets will have moved their coins to new “quantum-resistant addresses.”
“In any case — there are only 21 million BTC. Nothing can change that. Not even quantum computing. That is the truly key and important message. Bitcoin is the best asset in the world,” Ardoino emphasized.
A trader known as Crypto Skull supported the Tether CEO’s reasoning.
Prediction.
Quantum computing is still very far from any meaningful risk of breaking Bitcoin cryptography.
Quantum resistant addresses will eventually be added to Bitcoin before there is any serious threat.All people alive (and that have access to their wallets) will move…
— Paolo Ardoino ?? (@paoloardoino) February 8, 2025
“Quantum computing does not yet pose a real threat. And when it does, you’ll probably be sipping a mojito. […] Cryptocurrencies are made for evolution. The real question is not whether quantum computing will catch up, but whether you will be around to witness it,” he commented.
The expert would welcome the hypothetical possibility of “processing and freezing” Satoshi’s coins.
Billionaire and Social Capital venture firm founder Chamath Palihapitiya expressed a view similar to Ardoino’s regarding the timeline for the implementation of quantum computing.
I’m being misquoted in some places. And in others, folks are just being intellectually lazy or technically dumb.
So to be clear:
Quantum Computing will be a risk to v1 cryptographic approaches. The time frame is very much not clear and it’s not in the immediate time horizon.… pic.twitter.com/aMirUb8xTD
— Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) December 14, 2024
“It’s not in the immediate time horizon. But if I had a lot of coins, […] I would prepare accordingly,” he explained.
Earlier, University of Calgary scientist Pierre-Luc Dallaire-Demers stated that quantum computing does not pose a threat to bitcoin wallets in the next five years.
In October 2024, Chinese scientists conducted the “world’s first effective attack” on a widely used encryption algorithm using a quantum computer.
Later, experts claimed that the mentioned threat to cryptocurrencies is exaggerated.