CZ: Crypto Survives Quantum Threat, But Satoshi's Bitcoin May Not
Quantum computers pose a threat to Bitcoin's oldest dormant coins, including those held by creator Satoshi Nakamoto. While Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao says the crypto industry can upgrade to quantum-resistant cryptography, migrating coins already locked in old addresses presents a different challenge.
Key Takeaway
Crypto can upgrade to quantum resistance, but dormant coins stuck in old addresses face extinction.
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao urged crypto holders to stop panicking about quantum computing. He posted on X that the fix is straightforward in theory—crypto can survive by upgrading to quantum-resistant cryptography.
But dormant coins like Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin holdings may not make it through the transition. Bitcoin developers already merged the first quantum-resistant proposal into the core development repository, kicking off a multi-year migration process. Bitcoin researcher Ethan Heilman outlined a seven-year timeline assuming full ecosystem cooperation: three years for the proposal, two and a half years of testing, and half a year for activation.
Quantum computers capable of breaking current cryptographic systems are still years away. Google quantum researcher Craig Gidney projected a threat window of 2030 to 2035 in his May 2025 research. IBM plans to release its first fault-tolerant quantum computer, IBM Quantum Starling, by 2029. Chainalysis experts estimate a five to fifteen year timeline before quantum machines crack current standards.
Naoris Protocol CEO David Carvalho estimated that 30% of Bitcoin sits in quantum-vulnerable addresses as of June 2025. Blockstream CEO Adam Back said the quantum threat to Bitcoin is at least two decades away, but acknowledged that migrating coins—including Satoshi's dormant holdings—to quantum-safe wallets may eventually be necessary. One breach could destroy trust in the entire ecosystem, Carvalho warned. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre set a three-phase migration to post-quantum cryptography by 2035, with ECDSA and RSA scheduled to phase out by 2030.
This article was written based on reporting from BeInCrypto.
