Capriole Investments CEO Warns Bitcoin Must Upgrade for Quantum Threat

Charles Edwards, CEO of Capriole Investments, warns that Bitcoin must adopt post-quantum signatures by 2026 to avoid existential risk. He emphasizes the urgency with a potential attack timeline within 2–6 years using around 2,000 logical qubits for Shor's algorithm.

Quantum Threats and Bitcoin

Edwards suggests that without an upgrade, Bitcoin could face a significant threat from quantum computing, potentially leading to its value dropping to zero.
Pierre-Luc Dallaire-Démers of Pauli Group predicts quantum attacks on Bitcoin’s ECC-256 between 2027–2033.
The primary risk is exposed Bitcoin addresses, where quantum computers could quickly derive private keys, leading to fund theft.
Coins behind hashed public keys are safer until moved, but many remain vulnerable in exposed-key outputs.
Diverse estimates exist on quantum capabilities: some suggest millions of qubits needed, while others propose fewer due to fast-evolving technologies.

Edwards will discuss these risks at TOKEN2049, highlighting quantum threats and a growing Bitcoin "Treasury Bubble" as major concerns for future cycles.

At press time, BTC traded at $112,150.

Bitcoin price