Bitcoin Quantum Threat: Industry Should Prepare Now, Says Coinbase CEO

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says that Bitcoin is not currently under threat from quantum computers, but the industry should start preparing for a potential future risk. According to Armstrong, 'quantum computing will not pose an immediate threat to bitcoin,' and instead emphasized that 'the cryptocurrency industry should start preparing now.'

Coinbase has already begun working on a quantum-resistant version of its key management system, called PQ-CoreKMS, and is holding joint working sessions with Bitcoin Core developers, cryptographers, and researchers starting in August. The goal is to discuss migration strategies and provide engineering resources and funding for the purpose.

The background for this effort is that governments and technology companies have begun shifting core infrastructure to new quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms, which means that quantum preparation is no longer confined to theoretical review. Researchers agree that equipment capable of actually attacking Bitcoin would require millions of high-quality physical qubits and a strong error-correction system.