Mow Warns Against Rushed Post-Quantum Upgrade, Cites Classical Computing Threat

Bitcoin developer Samson Mow has cautioned against rushing to implement post-quantum (PQ) cryptography, warning that an overly hasty transition could expose the network to more immediate risks than the quantum threat it is meant to address.

Mow's comments come after Anthropic published research showing that its AI model discovered new attacks against weakened cryptographic algorithms. He argued that Bitcoin's conservative development philosophy should remain unchanged despite concerns over quantum computing.

'A few months ago I cautioned against hastily moving Bitcoin to PQ signatures, lest we introduce a vulnerability to classical attacks,' Mow wrote on X.

He warned that replacing Bitcoin's current ECDSA and Schnorr signature schemes with post-quantum alternatives too early could inadvertently weaken the network against conventional computers. 'Hastily changing from ECDSA/Schnorr to PQ signatures may make Bitcoin vulnerable to classical computing attacks today,' Mow explained.