The threat of quantum computing to Bitcoin’s cryptographic infrastructure has been downplayed as a coordination rather than a technical challenge by Michael Shaulov, CEO of crypto infrastructure firm Fireblocks. Speaking at the Financial Times Digital Asset Summit, Shaulov argued that migrating to post-quantum signature schemes is “primarily a coordination problem” for Bitcoin, pointing out that the network has already changed its signature scheme “once or twice throughout its history.” His comments aim to reshape a debate that intensified after a recent report by quantum security firm Project Eleven moved the projected “Q-Day”—when quantum computers can break modern cryptography—forward to around 2030.
While Shaulov considers the quantum risk manageable, he identified more pressing threats: North Korean hacker group Lazarus and its $292 million exploit on Kelp DAO are what “keeps us up at night” at Fireblocks, hindering institutional adoption more than price volatility. He also highlighted privacy as the “most important and unresolved problem” for Fortune 500 companies, citing Walmart’s crypto payment transparency through block explorers.
In parallel, Tezos co-founder Arthur Breitman accused parts of the Bitcoin community of promoting “half-baked crank theories” while ignoring legitimate quantum risks. Tezos has launched TzEL on testnet, a post-quantum privacy system designed to protect encrypted transaction data from future “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks. Breitman emphasized Tezos’ sense of urgency, noting its data availability layer can absorb the larger post-quantum shielded transactions without increasing load on consensus nodes. While practical quantum computers are not yet operational, both leaders agree the window to upgrade is narrowing, and complacency among developers remains the greatest danger.
