Coinbase Warns Bitcoin Must Prepare For Quantum Computing Before It’s Too Late

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure TL;DR: Coinbase is encouraging the Bitcoin ecosystem to begin planning for quantum-resistant security well before practical attacks become possible. Network upgrades could require years of development and consensus. Bitcoin does not face an imminent quantum-computing emergency, but Coinbase believes waiting for one would be a dangerous mistake. The exchange has been encouraging researchers, wallet developers and network participants to discuss a transition toward quantum-resistant cryptography. A sufficiently advanced quantum computer could eventually threaten some of the signature systems Bitcoin currently relies on to authorise transactions. Today’s machines cannot carry out those attacks at practical scale. The difficulty is how long Bitcoin could take to prepare. A Network That Moves Deliberately Bitcoin’s security comes partly from the caution with which changes are introduced. Unlike an ordinary software service, its developers cannot simply deploy a major new cryptographic system to every user overnight. Changes require technical testing and broad acceptance across wallet prov...