Is Bitcoin ready for quantum computing? Coin Metrics Co-Founder Nic Carter says the real risk isn’t where you think.
Nic Carter says quantum computing is bitcoin’s biggest risk, explaining how spending exposes public keys and urging developers to plan post-quantum defenses.Carter calls quantum computing the biggest long-term risk to bitcoin’s core cryptography.
He says revealing public keys on spend raises exposure and urges near- and long-term planning. Nic Carter says quantum computing is the biggest long-term risk to bitcoin’s core cryptography and urges developers to treat it with urgency, not as science fiction.published Monday, the Coin Metrics cofounder explains in plain language how bitcoin’s keys work and why quantum matters. Carter writes that users start with a secret number and derive a public key with elliptic-curve math on the secp256k1 curve, the basis for ECDSA and Schnorr signatures. He describes that transformation as deliberately one way: easy to compute forward, infeasible to reverse under classical assumptions. “Bitcoin’s entire cryptographic premise is ‘there exists a one-way function that’s easy to compute in one direction, and infeasible to invert,’” he writes. To build intuition, Carter likens the system to a giant number scrambler. Going from private to public is efficient for honest users, he says, because they can use a shortcut known as “double and add” to reach a result quickly. He adds there is no comparable shortcut in the opposite direction. For non-specialists, he offers a deck-shuffle analogy: you can repeat the same sequence of shuffles to reach an identical final order, but an observer cannot look at the shuffled deck and infer how many shuffles were used. Carter argues the concern is that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could erode that asymmetry by making progress on the discrete logarithm problem that underpins bitcoin’s signatures. In his telling, routine network behavior also raises exposure: when coins are spent, a public key is revealed on-chain. He says that is safe today because converting a revealed public key back to the private key is not practical, but quantum advances could change that calculus, especially if addresses are reused and more keys remain visible for longer.Near term, he highlights basic hygiene such as avoiding address reuse so public keys are not exposed longer than necessary. Longer term, he urges the community to prioritize post-quantum signature schemes and realistic migration paths, framing them as engineering work rather than a distant thought experiment. The essay is the first in a short series; Carter said on X that parts II and III will arrive in the next couple of weeks and will cover “post-quantum break scenarios.”AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence toStablecoin payment volumes have grown to $19.4B year-to-date in 2025. OwlTing aims to capture this market by developing payment infrastructure that processes transactions in seconds for fractions of a cent. Long-time XRP investor Brandon LaRoque says he discovered the loss on Oct. 15 in cold wallet maker Ellipal’s mobile app, but the theft occurred on Oct. 12.He says he found the loss on Oct. 15 in the Ellipal app; the theft happened on Oct. 12. Ellipal told him that if you type a hardware wallet’s seed into the Ellipal app, the private keys are saved on your phone or tablet, turning it into a hot wallet. He says his iPhone app showed a blue “cold” view while his iPad showed an orange “hot” view, per Ellipal’s color cues.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Bitcoin price ‘lines up nicely’ for $95K drop next despite bullish RSI dataBitcoin traders point to BTC price action dropping below $100,000 next.
Read more »
What if quantum computers already broke Bitcoin?If quantum computers capable of breaking Bitcoin’s algorithm were around today, the network’s security could already be compromised without anyone realizing it.
Read more »
NBA Insider Casts Doubt on Devin Carter’s Future With KingsThe Sacramento Kings have some thinking to do about Devin Carter's future with the franchise.
Read more »
Mark Carter: Crafting the Illusion of Luxury in HollywoodProduction designer Mark Carter's journey from humble beginnings to crafting luxurious environments for film and television. His unique perspective allows him to create authentic and emotionally resonant sets that capture the essence of stealth wealth.
Read more »
Key Giants Defender Will Reportedly Be a Game-Time DecisionGiants rookie outside linebacker Abdul Carter is dealing with a hamstring injury.
Read more »
Eagles will have Jalen Carter, Landon Dickerson back from injury Sunday vs. VikingsThe Eagles will have two key players back from injury for the game in Minnesota.
Read more »