Bitcoin’s quantum threat is distant, but migration clock is ticking, says Adam Back

Blockstream CEO Adam Back, downplayed the immediacy of quantum computing as a threat to the Bitcoin network, but emphasized the need for the industry to prepare.

A foundational figure in Bitcoin history for his cryptography work, dating back to the 1990s, Back laid out his central argument, saying that while quantum risk is real in theory, it is not yet practical, in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday.

Back noted that “the current hardware…generally doesn’t have any error correction.” That aligns with two recent papers highlighted in a thread on X, one a sober engineering analysis, the other a deadpan satire, which make that case from opposite directions. Together, they frame quantum computing as a long-term rather than near-term risk to cryptographic systems.

However, Back said the “lede” is not about dismissing the threat but about timing the response correctly. “We don’t have to agree about the timeline for quantum computers to become powerful enough to be a threat, because the prudent thing to do is to prepare Bitcoin and give people the option to migrate their keys to a quantum ready format, and to have, let’s say, a decade in which to do that.”

That timeline echoes reporting that post-quantum cryptography (PQC) is already moving from theory to implementation, particularly after NIST finalized standards in late 2024.

Back also stressed that preparation work is already active across the ecosystem, pointing to ongoing research and deployment. “There’s a 20-person research team that’s been working on this. Publishing papers and implementing things, putting them live.” He cited Blockstream’s Liquid network as an early proving ground.

The industry’s challenge is less about reacting to a breakthrough and more about coordinating a slow, orderly migration, before the risk becomes urgent.

UPDATE (April 8, 113:25 UTC): Adds link to Bloomberg interview.