Blockstream CEO Adam Back, an early pioneer of the crypto movement, said Bitcoiners should be looking at building quantum-resistant solutions now, even if the threat is still decades away.
“Quantum computing still has a lot to prove. Current systems are essentially lab experiments. I’ve followed the field for over 25 years, and progress has been incremental,” Back said at Paris Blockchain Week on Tuesday.
“That said, Bitcoin should prepare,” Back said, adding that the “safest approach” is to build optional upgrades that allow migration to quantum-resistant cryptography if needed.
Concerns that quantum computers could eventually break blockchain cryptography have fueled industry-wide fear that bad actors could use it to break into crypto wallets, plunging the market into chaos.
Back said in November that the quantum threat is still 20 to 40 years away, while explaining to Bloomberg earlier this month that today’s quantum computers are slower than calculators.
Despite this, his Bitcoin development company, Blockstream, has a dedicated quantum team researching potential threat vectors to the Bitcoin network.
Part of that work has involved implementing hash-based signatures on Blockstream’s Bitcoin layer-2 Liquid Network, Back said at Paris Blockchain Week.
“Preparation is key. Making changes in a controlled way is far safer than reacting in a crisis.”
He added that the Taproot protocol could also support alternative signature schemes on the Bitcoin network without affecting current users.
Quantum computing threat may be closer than it appears
Last month, Google and California Institute of Technology researchers said functional quantum computers could come sooner than expected and that far less computing power is needed to break cryptography than previously thought.
Google went as far as to say that quantum computers could potentially break Bitcoin’s cryptography as quickly as nine minutes, allowing hackers to perform an “on-spend” attack.
Asked what would happen if the quantum threat arrives sooner than anticipated, Back said Bitcoin developers would “act quickly.”
“We’ve seen that before — bugs have been identified and fixed within hours. When something becomes urgent, it focuses attention and drives consensus.”
Quantum proposal to freeze old Bitcoin met with backlash
On Tuesday, Bitcoin developer Jameson Lopp and five other crypto security researchers introduced a proposal to freeze quantum-vulnerable Bitcoin — including Satoshi Nakamoto’s $81.9 billion stash — to prevent them from being stolen once quantum computers become functional.
Related: Bitcoiners propose freezing quantum-vulnerable coins in BIP-361
The proposal drew sharp criticism from several members of the Bitcoin community, including developer and researcher Mark Erhardt, who described it as “authoritarian and confiscatory.”
Phil Geiger, head of business development at Metaplanet, said: “We have to steal people’s money to prevent their money from being stolen.”
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