Quantum computers pose a risk to Bitcoin’s $2 trillion network. BTQ Technologies claims to offer a solution.

The Quantum Computing Challenge for Cryptocurrencies

Discussions in the media often highlight cryptocurrencies as one of the most vulnerable targets for quantum computing, suggesting that advances in this technology could soon render traditional cryptographic protections obsolete—possibly within the next ten years.

Quantum-based processors are capable of handling certain computations at speeds far beyond those of conventional chips. This dramatic increase in processing power threatens many current cryptographic systems, which rely on the difficulty and time required to solve complex mathematical problems.

In response, researchers are actively seeking solutions to counteract these risks—an aspect frequently overlooked in sensationalized reports about new quantum hardware. One promising direction is the shift from today’s public key encryption methods to alternatives like lattice-based digital signatures, which are believed to be more resistant to quantum attacks.

To address the potential vulnerability of Bitcoin’s $2 trillion blockchain, BTQ Technologies has introduced Bitcoin Quantum—a permissionless testnet fork of Bitcoin designed to withstand quantum threats.

According to Chris Tam, BTQ’s head of partnerships, this open network allows miners, developers, and researchers to experiment with quantum-resistant transactions and evaluate their practical implications before any urgent changes are needed on the main Bitcoin network. The platform features both a block explorer and a mining pool for immediate access.

How Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin

Quantum technology introduces two major risks for Bitcoin: it could enable attackers to derive private keys from public keys, and it could undermine the network’s proof-of-work system, which secures transaction ordering and network integrity.

With quantum computers, it would become possible to quickly compute a private key from its corresponding public key, making it trivial to steal funds and undermining the entire security model, Tam warns.

“The process is supposed to be one-way: you generate a public key from a private key, not the other way around,” Tam explained. “Quantum computers, however, can efficiently solve the discrete logarithm problem, which is assumed to be hard for classical computers, but not in the quantum realm.”

Encouragingly, Tam notes that quantum-resistant security can be achieved with current computational resources and algorithms. Post-quantum cryptography uses similar interfaces to today’s digital signatures, but relies on mathematical problems that are much harder for quantum computers to solve.

Progress Toward Quantum-Resistant Cryptography

“We still use digital signature algorithms, but the underlying mathematical challenges are shifting from discrete logarithms to problems that quantum computers are believed to struggle with,” Tam said. “These are being incorporated into international cryptographic standards.”

The transition to post-quantum cryptography is already underway. As early as 2016, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) began seeking new algorithms to replace those at risk from quantum advances.

In August 2024, the U.S. officially standardized a post-quantum algorithm known as Dilithium (or Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Algorithm, ML-DSA), which is also used by Bitcoin Quantum.

However, adoption in fast-evolving sectors like cryptocurrency has been slow, largely due to the higher computational costs involved.

Post-quantum digital signatures are significantly larger—at least 200 times the size of current signatures used in blockchain transactions or even messaging apps like WhatsApp.

“There are ways to address quantum risks, but these solutions introduce new challenges, particularly in terms of performance and the expense of deploying them at scale,” Tam acknowledged.

Preserving Bitcoin’s Core Identity

Yet, the greatest obstacle may not be technical. Implementing such changes would require a hard fork of the Bitcoin blockchain—an upgrade incompatible with previous versions. Gaining consensus for such a fundamental shift is likely to face strong resistance from the community.

Many prominent figures in the Bitcoin ecosystem argue that a hard fork would essentially create a new cryptocurrency, distinct from the original Bitcoin.

Proposals like BIP-360 aim to introduce quantum-resistant address formats and enable a gradual migration, but no concrete timeline or migration process has been established.

To address concerns from those hesitant to adopt quantum-resistant measures, Tam references Bitcoin’s enigmatic creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, as the ultimate authority.

“From the very beginning, Satoshi Nakamoto recognized the quantum threat to existing cryptography. If you review the early code, you’ll see that Satoshi modified the payment process a few years in, understanding that once a public key is exposed on the blockchain, a quantum computer could potentially derive the private key,” Tam explained.