Anatoly Yakovenko, Solana co-founder, recently spoke on how advancing quantum computing puts Bitcoin cryptography at great risk.
The matter of quantum computing and its impact on Bitcoin (BTC) has come up again. This time around, Anatoly Yakovenko, Solana co-founder, highlighted that advancements in this technology may eventually put Bitcoin cryptography at risk. He said there is a possibility that the blockchain may be forced to migrate.
Bitcoin Cryptography Migration Becomes Imminent
While attending the All-In Summit 2025, Yakovenko issued a warning of how the rapid advancements of quantum computing can force Bitcoin cryptography to change. He capped the odds of this event happening in the next 5 years at 50/50. In his opinion, a definitive algorithm migration is important to avoid the risk of security failures.
“There’s “a 50/50 chance that within five years there’s a quantum breakthrough—meaning you can run Shor’s algorithm,” the Solana co-founder noted. This algorithm has the capacity to compromise the existing signature schemes that power the transactions of the Bitcoin blockchain.
The industry has already seen top technology companies release quantum computing chips like Google Willow. Ultimately, quantum computing is categorized as an existential risk for today’s primitives and a potential economic catalyst comparable to Artificial Intelligence (AI).
In light of this possible scenario, Yakovenko thinks that it has become imminent to move Bitcoin to a quantum-resistant signature scheme.
Bitcoin ECC Cryptography at Risk of Shor’s Algorithm
It is worth noting that Solana co-founder’s concerns echo a stance held by Craig Gidney, a Quantum AI researcher at Google. Back in May, the latter warned that Bitcoin’s encryption faces growing risks due to rapid advancements in quantum computing.
In his explanation, he revealed how breaking RSA encryption now requires 20 times fewer quantum resources than was previously estimated. This means that the difficulty level is gradually reducing, thereby opening more opportunities for security failures. For more context, RSA is a public-key algorithm for the encryption and decryption of data.
It forms the core security framework for many crypto wallets, although Bitcoin uses Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) rather than RSA. Unfortunately, the ECC is also vulnerable to Shor’s algorithm. This situation is a call to action for Bitcoin developers to devise sophisticated technologies that can overcome quantum computing.
