Binance Founder CZ Demands Crypto Industry Upgrade Against Quantum Threats

Changpeng Zhao, former CEO of Binance, has downplayed concerns about quantum computing attacks on cryptocurrencies but stressed the need for a major overhaul to ensure their security. According to a Google whitepaper released on March 30, around 6.9 million Bitcoin are exposed to quantum computing threats that could require fewer than 500,000 physical qubits to crack.

This is significantly lower than earlier estimates of millions of qubits needed for such an attack. The paper also warns that a quantum computer could derive a private key from an exposed public key in just nine minutes, which would be fast enough to beat Bitcoin's 10-minute confirmation window about 41% of the time.

Zhao responded to this news on social media by saying 'All crypto has to do is upgrade to Quantum-Resistant (Post-Quantum) Algorithms. So, no need to panic.' He noted that while executing such a migration across decentralized networks would be difficult due to coordination problems and disagreements over which algorithms to adopt, it's essential for the industry's long-term survival.

He also suggested that failing or dormant projects might be better off disappearing rather than becoming easy targets for attackers. In terms of short-term risks, Zhao warned that new code could introduce vulnerabilities and users who self-custody would need to move funds to upgraded wallets.