Quantum Threat to Bitcoin Goes Beyond Just Threat to Cold Wallets

David Duong, Coinbase's head of investment research, asserts that the quantum computing threat to Bitcoin extends beyond merely compromising wallet security. He detailed that cryptographically relevant quantum computers running Shor’s and Grover’s Algorithms pose two primary threats: breaking the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) to steal funds from vulnerable addresses, and undermining Bitcoin’s economic and security model by mining blocks far more efficiently than current methods using SHA-256.

While acknowledging that quantum mining is a lower immediate concern due to current machine scaling limitations, Duong emphasizes that the migration away from vulnerable signatures is the central issue. He clarified that quantum computing is not an imminent threat because today's machines are too small to break Bitcoin's cryptography, but he supports the open-source community's vigilance in engineering post-quantum migration paths.

The debate on timing continues, with skeptics like Adam Back suggesting the threat is decades away, while others, like Charles Edwards of Capriole, argue for more immediate preparatory steps to secure the network.

(Source：Cointelegraph)