{"id":94511,"date":"2026-02-20T17:45:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T14:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=94511"},"modified":"2026-02-20T17:50:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T14:50:17","slug":"bitcoin-developer-warns-of-quantum-threat-from-intelligence-agencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/bitcoin-developer-warns-of-quantum-threat-from-intelligence-agencies\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitcoin Developer Warns of Quantum Threat from Intelligence Agencies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The first cryptocurrency is unprepared for a future where government agencies, using ultra-fast quantum computers, could crack its cryptography. This view was shared by developer Hunter Beest at the ETHDenver conference.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Making Bitcoin Quantum Resistant | Isabel, Alex, Hunter, Eric\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/s8Qdi0Rv7AU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cToday, we are completely unprepared for the consequences. It&#8217;s a multidimensional problem, and you only realize its true scale when you start to delve into it,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>According to Beest, the main players in the race are not tech giants but &#8220;spies&#8221;\u2014the <span data-descr=\"United States National Security Agency\" class=\"old_tooltip\">NSA<\/span> and the Chinese military. Quantum computers, costing billions of dollars, are useful not only for stealing bitcoins. They can crack RSA\u2014a widely used encryption standard, granting access to other countries&#8217; classified data.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is that the new technology is not yet capable of solving practical tasks, which hinders convincing many developers of the seriousness of the threat, the expert emphasized.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In December, one of the key Bitcoin Core contributors, Luke Dashjr, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LukeDashjr\/status\/2001602642179408164\">stated<\/a>:\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cThe quantum threat is not real. Bitcoin has far more serious problems.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Forecasts and Actions\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>Other specialists share a similar opinion. For instance, Blockstream co-founder and cypherpunk Adam Back <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/adam-back-dismisses-quantum-threat-to-bitcoin-as-overstated\">is confident<\/a> that concerns about quantum computing are exaggerated. In his view, it will take about 20-40 years before super-powerful computers emerge.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The expert did not rule out that such technologies might never appear.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Analyst Willy Woo <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/willy-woo-suggests-segwit-as-a-shield-against-bitcoins-quantum-risk\">believes<\/a> that the threat will not become relevant until at least 2030. By then, developers may implement quantum-resistant encryption standards, he noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Some disagree with this perspective. Previously, Castle Island Ventures partner Nic Carter <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/experts-assess-quantum-computings-impact-on-bitcoin\">criticized<\/a> developers for ignoring the quantum computing threat. He also <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/expert-predicts-bitcoins-corporate-takeover-due-to-quantum-threat\">stated<\/a>:\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cI think developers will continue to do nothing. [\u2026] Institutions will likely tire of this, fire the team, and hire a new one.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Craig Warmke of the Bitcoin Policy Institute agrees. He believes that any attempts to convince people of the complete absence of risk are doomed to fail: explanations will be too complex, and the public trusts quantum physicists more than Bitcoin developers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, the industry is not standing still. In July, Casa&#8217;s CTO Jameson Lopp <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/developers-propose-quantum-resistant-solution-for-bitcoin\">proposed<\/a> creating a separate <span data-descr=\"Bitcoin Improvement Proposal\" class=\"old_tooltip\">BIP<\/span>, based on an existing initiative\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/bip360.org\/\">BIP 360<\/a>. It suggests introducing a new type of address using post-quantum cryptography.<\/p>\n<p>In February, BIP 360 was included in Bitcoin&#8217;s codebase. Developers are actively working on this proposal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udea8 BITCOIN QUANTUM UPDATE:<\/p>\n<p>Developers advanced BIP-360, laying groundwork for post-quantum protection.<\/p>\n<p>The proposal removes a Taproot key-path feature that could expose public keys to future quantum attacks.<\/p>\n<p>Not activated yet but the defense planning has begun.<\/p>\n<p>Bitcoin is\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qEXapNeFZT\">pic.twitter.com\/qEXapNeFZT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Merlijn The Trader (@MerlijnTrader) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MerlijnTrader\/status\/2023351660571972019?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In January, the company BTQ <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/btq-launches-quantum-resistant-bitcoin-testnet\">launched<\/a> a quantum-resistant testnet for the first cryptocurrency.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bitcoin is unprepared for a future where authorities could crack its cryptography using quantum computers, says developer Hunter Beest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":94512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"Bitcoin unprepared for quantum computer threats, warns developer.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[18,1138,575,1360],"class_list":["post-94511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-bitcoin","tag-opinions","tag-quantum-computers","tag-quantum-computing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"317","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"Bitcoin unprepared for quantum computer threats, warns developer.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94511"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94513,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94511\/revisions\/94513"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}