Jefferies’ Analyst Dumps Bitcoin Over Quantum Computing Fears, Buys Gold
Jefferies' Christopher Wood removed Bitcoin from his model portfolio due to quantum computing risks, reallocating funds to gold and gold equities.Summary
Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, has removed Bitcoin from his flagship “Greed & Fear” model portfolio, citing concerns that quantum computing development poses an existential threat to Bitcoin's cryptographic security.
Wood replaced the 10% Bitcoin allocation with a 5% allocation to physical gold and 5% to gold-mining equities. He stated that while the quantum threat is not immediate, it undermines Bitcoin's long-term store-of-value proposition. Bitcoin's security relies on cryptography that powerful quantum machines could theoretically break, potentially compromising private keys. Estimates suggest 4 million to 10 million BTC might be vulnerable, particularly older wallets with exposed public keys.
Despite Bitcoin's significant outperformance since Wood first added it in 2020, he views the structural uncertainty created by quantum computing as a strong argument for gold, which he considers a historically tested hedge against geopolitical and technological volatility.
(Source：Bitcoin Magazine)