What is quantum technology?
Quantum technology can process huge amounts of data and solve complex problems in seconds rather than decades.
Surprisingly, quantum technology first appeared in the early 1900s. It came from quantum mechanics, a branch of physics that examines how matter and energy behave at very small scales such as atoms and subatomic particles.
In the real world, it is applied to the latest technologies such as transistors, lasers, MRI machines, and quantum computers. They are said to be 300,000 times faster and more powerful than those used today. Google’s new quantum chip, Willow, may significantly reduce computational time and provide hackers with tools to unlock algorithms that support Bitcoin and other cryptographic ciphers.
Quantum computers can threaten Bitcoin’s cryptographic systems, including the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA). Experts like Adam Back and Michael Saylor have argued that the quantum threat to Bitcoin is no concern at present, as applications like these require sophisticated quantum hardware that can take years, if not decades.
Quantum computer research and development is running at a fast pace, but at this stage is Bitcoin Quantum-Safe? Not yet, developers are working to upgrade their networks to mitigate quantum risks that could include cryptographic destruction.
While it is important to acknowledge the risk, it is also essential to make it clear that it is not a real threat for now.
Did you know? Albert Einstein has made a significant contribution to the development of quantum technology. He sets the basis for quantum mechanics in his work on the photoelectric effect, which revealed what light is being made. As many believe, he won the Nobel Prize for this, not for relativity.
How Quantum Tech can destroy Bitcoin wallets
Quantum computing can have a major impact on Bitcoin. This is primarily because it can undermine the encryption that protects your network.
Quantum computing and Bitcoin (BTC) have been a hot topic for a while, but it’s no surprise. You could destroy your Bitcoin wallet by exploiting the asymmetric encryption vulnerabilities that destroy your network and ensure them. Specifically, ECDSA, an asymmetric cryptographic used in Bitcoin, is vulnerable to attacks by quantum computers.
Bitcoin wallets are fixed by ECDSA and generate a pair of private public keys. Its security relies on the difficult-to-solve elliptic curve discrete logarithmic problems (ECDLP), which cannot be solved by classical computers.
The cracking of Bitcoin private keys by Quantum Computers is a real problem as the private key controls Bitcoin. If you lose them, you will lose your money. When a private public key pair is generated, the public key is set for verification, and the private key is for signature.
In 1994, mathematician Peter Scholl created the SHOR quantum algorithm that could break the perceived security of an asymmetric encryption algorithm. All existing algorithms require enormous amounts of time, money and resources to derive private keys from public keys. However, the Shor algorithm accelerates the process.
This means that if an individual, organization, or person with a powerful quantum computer can use the Shor algorithm, it could generate a private key from the public key and generate a fake digital signature for the transaction.
Bitcoin and quantum security risks
Quantum Tech has learned that revealing your private key can damage your Bitcoin wallet. This risk becomes more important as quantum computers move forward, especially for wallets linked to old addresses and wallets with reused public keys. Quantum computing allows you to reverse the private key from these exposed public keys, threatening the security of your Bitcoin holder.
In 2025, quantum computers are likely to be decades away from defeating ECDSA. Even Michael Saylor believes the concern is unfair. Bitcoin users can sit and relax for now, but they need to be aware of best practices for dealing with future quantum threats to Bitcoin.
This is a brief breakdown of the relationship between quantum computing and Bitcoin.
Did you know? Quantum computing progress can be assessed by the number of qubits (basic unit of information) of a single processor. Today, the most powerful quantum computers are processing 100-1,000 qubits. The estimated number of qubits required to break Bitcoin security ranges from 13 million to over 300 million.
Can quantum computers collect lost Bitcoin?
Analysts believe that between 2.3 million and 3.7 million Bitcoin is lost forever. This is about 11%-18% of the total fixed supply of 21 million.
If quantum recovery technology allows dormant wallets to revive, what happens when Bitcoin is lost? Consider only the coins that are estimated to be 1 million on Nakamoto AT alone. If quantum computers break their wallets and release coins into the circulation, they can lead to major market shaking.
Quantum computers may recover lost Bitcoin by breaking the encryption keys that protect these wallets. These are wallets with private keys that are usually lost or difficult to reach, and are easily targeted.
These may be the oldest version of Bitcoin addresses using the Pay-To-Public-Key (P2PK) format. As a result, these addresses remain vulnerable and no one is alive or can update. Advances in quantum computing could potentially exploit these vulnerabilities to unlock dormant wallets.
In May 2025, BlackRock, a global asset manager and technology provider, added a warning to ISHARES Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) filing, saying that quantum computing poses a major risk to Bitcoin’s long-term security with its ability to break current cryptographic defenses.
Ethical and economic impacts
Recovering lost Bitcoin can cause some economic and ethical implications. Reintroduction of these coins into the circulation can disrupt the attributes of Bitcoin’s scarcity, which can result in an impact on its market value.
There is already discussion on the best ways to maintain the economic and ethical value of Bitcoin. Many believe that, like OG Bitcoin expert Jameson Ropp, those coins should be burned and destroyed forever to protect their networks. Others believe that it should be redistributed for the balance of wealth.
What can you do to protect Bitcoin?
When protecting Bitcoin, it is essential to minimize public key exposure. Simple measures can help users find more peace of mind.
Regardless of quantum threats, measures to protect Bitcoin should always be considered. Scams are a permanent threat to the code. Phishing is one of the most common scams in cryptography, revealing a new zero value fraud and adding a fake address to the transaction history of the target wallet.
Once the owner starts a transaction, it doesn’t even need to access the private key, it simply selects an address from history and a scam address.
Approximately 25% of all Bitcoin is stored in addresses that reuse Pay-To-Public-Key (P2PK) or Pay-To-Public-Key-Hash (P2PKH). These methods often reveal the public key that is linked to the user’s address. This is where the cryptographic vulnerability to quantum computing becomes more clear, as exposed public keys are prone to quantum attacks via the SHOR algorithm.
You can do this by simply avoiding address reuse. Join a platform that automatically supports wallet change addresses for each transaction. Reusing an address can cause your public key to be published during the transaction.
The best thing you can do is to generate a new address for each transaction and use a wallet that supports Taproot and segwit. Don’t forget to pay particular attention when sending transactions to the wallet address. These wallets provide addresses with better security.
Address addiction is another type of common phishing technique that allows users to cost millions of dollars. Bad actors will happen when sending small transactions from wallet addresses similar to the victim’s legitimate address and trick them by having them copy the wrong addresses when performing future transactions.
Quantum resistance in Bitcoin: Continuous research and safety measures
Bitcoin is currently resilient to quantum threats, with ongoing research into protocols such as quantum resistant wallets and QRAMP protecting the future, and experts are exploring how quantum technology can enhance networks.
Bitcoin is decentralized and open source. The network has adapted well, and continuous research on quantum-resistant Bitcoin wallets suggests that the coin does not face an immediate threat.
Users must follow best practices to avoid reusing addresses and remain safe until quantum-equipped cryptocurrencies and wallets are fully prepared and available for use.
In the first step to protect Bitcoin from quantum threats, Bitcoin developer Agustin Cruz proposed the Quantum Resistant Asset Mapping Protocol (QRAMP) in early 2025. It is intended that Bitcoin allows cross-chain work and extends to CUST or other blockchains with no supply of supply.
Experts are also developing strong quantum-resistant encryption technologies that can benefit Bitcoin in several ways. It could improve scalability, create non-hackable wallets, and enhance encryption. These changes will help the Bitcoin network continue to become stronger in the new quantum world.