Michael Saylor dismissed claims on the threat posed by quantum computers to virtual currencies

Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy, has expressed his views on the potential threat quantum computing poses to cryptocurrencies. He described the concerns as partly a marketing tactic by those promoting new quantum concept tokens.

Saylor believes that major firms like Google and Microsoft would not support the development of quantum computers that could break modern encryption. He argued that such developments could undermine the security of their systems and operations.

Saylor expects Bitcoin to counter quantum threat with software upgrades

NEW‼️- ARE YOU WORRIED QUANTUM COMPUTING WILL BREAK BITCOIN?

💥 MICHAEL SAYLOR: pic.twitter.com/CVeFWXML4H

— Neil Jacobs (@NeilJacobs) June 6, 2025

BlackRock considers Quantum computers, with their ability to outperform classical binary computers and break traditional encryption, a threat to crypto. Michael Saylor dismissed Quantum’s threat to Bitcoin, saying that the BTC protocol would implement a software upgrade when the threat becomes imminent.

Saylor responded to concerns about the threat of computers soon being able to break the encryption that enables the scarcity of Bitcoin. He also believes that major tech companies can’t sell to customers a computer that can breach BTC’s cryptography because it would destroy them and the entire banking industry.

“It’s mainly marketing from people that want to sell you the next quantum yo-yo token. Google and Microsoft aren’t going to sell you a computer that cracks modern cryptography because it would destroy Google and Microsoft – and the U.S. Government and the banking system.”

-Michael Saylor, CEO at Strategy.

The quantum sector has had several proposals about how to secure Proof of Work against the quantum threat, including from BTQ Technologies, a startup building quantum-proof crypto hardware. One BTC developer has also introduced a draft Bitcoin Improvement Protocol that proposes a hard fork to move everyone’s wallets to quantum-secure addresses.

Saylor argued that the bigger security threat for Bitcoin is phishing, noting that the digital asset is a protocol that gets upgraded yearly. Presto Research also acknowledged in a recent report that the crypto industry is unprepared for the coming quantum threat. Google also suggested in new research that RSA encryption, a critical security feature used in securing Bitcoin, may be more susceptible to quantum computing attacks than previously anticipated. 

The Quantum AI researcher Craig Gidney, published a new report indicating that RSA encryption could be broken with 20 times fewer quantum resources than previously estimated. He noted that a quantum computer could theoretically break the 2048-bit RSA encryption with 1 million qubits running for one week.

Gidney did not mention digital assets, although the Elliptic Curve Cryptographic algorithm, which secures transactions on BTC with public and private keys, is similar in principle to the RSA. A previous study also suggested that despite Elliptic Curve Cryptography being secure against classical computers, a strong enough quantum computer could effectively crack it in the years to come. 

Google’s latest next-generation quantum chip, Willow, has also ignited concerns over Bitcoin’s cryptography. The firm said the chip could solve a standard benchmark computation in under five minutes, a task that would take the world’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillions years to solve.

Hunter wants the BTC community to focus on preparedness rather than denial

A study led by the University of Kent’s School of Computing suggested that BTC might need to undergo a costly and time-consuming update process to counter the threat of quantum computing in the future. CTO and co-founder of self-custody service Casa, Jameson Lopp, also argued that Bitcoin’s community has less than a decade to implement contingency plans.

According to a study published by Deloitte, 25% of BTC’s circulating supply is vulnerable to quantum attacks because their associated wallets’ keys have been exposed. The firm also found that the sum totaling 4 million Bitcoin at the time is worth nearly $42 billion, based on current prices.

Anduro Senior Protocol Engineer Hunter Beast and Marathon Director of Engineering Michael B. Casey suggested that Bitcoin’s algorithms could be cracked with zero warning. The experts also argued that attackers would get far less in the case of a breach. They believe that if BTC’s algorithms are cracked, it could immediately depress the asset’s price during a liquidation event.

Beast and Casey acknowledged that Bitcoin can be secured against quantum threats by moving funds to a wallet that hasn’t had its public key exposed yet. They also noted it could be impossible for actors that have lost their keys or impractical for exchanges that let the public make on-chain deposits. Beast emphasized that the community should lean towards preparedness instead of denial.

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