Quantum computing always comes up when people talk about Bitcoin’s long-term security.

The existence is terrifying.;

𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴.

So, is BTC that easy to hack?

Actually, Bitcoin relies on two main cryptographic systems.

> Elliptic curve cryptography (ECC): protects private keys and ensures that only the owner of a key can authorize transactions.

> SHA-256 hashing: maintains blockchain integrity and prevents tampering.

These systems make Bitcoin extremely secure against traditional hacking methods. Simultaneously, quantum computing does have the potential to change the game.

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What matters is how many qubits a quantum computer actually has and whether it’s powerful enough to break Bitcoin’s algorithms.

𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘉𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘯’𝘴 256 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 13 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘲𝘶𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘴.

Google’s Willow chip, which made headlines recently, has 105 qubits.

With the kind of error correction needed to turn physical qubits into stable logical qubits, we’re still very far from machines capable of breaking Bitcoin today.

Even if the NSA secretly has a powerful quantum computer, it’s unlikely they would use it on Bitcoin.

Using such a capability would reveal its existence, and in terms of strategic value, Bitcoin is the least asset on the list.

That power is far more valuable for cracking military communications, nuclear command codes, or global commercial networks.

Quantum computing is still in its infancy, and the machines needed to threaten Bitcoin’s cryptography won’t exist for decades.

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Minor risks do exist.

A good example is modest speed-ups in mining algorithms or vulnerabilities in smaller blockchain projects that use weaker cryptography.

The long-term risk is more serious.

> Large-scale, error-corrected quantum computers capable of running Shor’s algorithm could, in theory, derive private keys from public keys.

> That would allow attackers to forge transactions, steal Bitcoin, compromise blockchain integrity, and potentially destabilize mining and consensus mechanisms.

> Experts estimate that this level of quantum computing could be achieved in the next 10 to 20 years.

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Bitcoin addresses work differently depending on the type.

Modern addresses use pay-to-public-key-hash (P2PKH), which hides the public key until the first transaction is made. This makes them safer because an attacker cannot target the private key without first seeing the public key.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘩𝘪’𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘺-𝘵𝘰-𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤-𝘬𝘦𝘺 (𝘗2𝘗𝘒) 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘷𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘮 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬.

Similarly, coins in lost wallets or addresses controlled by people who have died cannot be upgraded to quantum-resistant formats, making them vulnerable once quantum computing reaches the necessary scale.

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The crypto industry is not ignoring this.

Quantum-resistant cryptography is already under development. New methods like lattice-based and hash-based cryptography, along with standards from NIST such as CRYSTALS-Kyber and CRYSTALS-Dilithium, are nearing real-world implementation.

Developers are planning soft forks, protocol upgrades, and migration strategies for when quantum computers become a real threat.

The point is,

Bitcoin is safe for now. Quantum computing will eventually require migration to quantum-resistant signature schemes, but the ecosystem is flexible enough to handle that. The real concern is coins in old formats, lost wallets, or addresses that reused keys.

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For everyday users, following best practices like never reusing addresses and upgrading to quantum-secure wallets when available will prevent most problems.

In conclusion, quantum computing is advancing fast, but it is not capable of breaking Bitcoin today. The threat is real over the long term, but we have a window of time, possibly decades, to prepare.