The cryptocurrency industry is preparing for the threat quantum computers pose to the encryption securing wallets and transactions, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Crypto Firms Prepare Defences as Quantum Threat Nears: Reuters
9 July 2026 - 08:48 CEST
By Oihyun Kim
According to people the news agency interviewed, none of the top 20 blockchains has yet implemented a post-quantum signature algorithm. One senior cybersecurity executive at a major crypto firm told Reuters that making his company fully quantum-resistant would take about two years, likening the effort to the Y2K overhaul that cost some $300bn globally.
Chris Tam, head of quantum innovation at BTQ Technologies, which focuses on quantum security, called quantum the most direct and existential threat facing crypto networks. The urgency traces back to March research from Google suggesting that cryptography could be broken sooner than expected; the company has said such machines could arrive by 2029, rather than the decade or more away previously assumed.
Still, Reuters' sources expect commercial-scale attacks to remain a few years off, leaving time for blockchains to migrate to post-quantum standards.
