Our Chief Technology Officer answered your quantum computing questions (3 things you should know)

Quantum computing is one of those topics everyone’s talking about, but it’s very hard to actually understand what it is and what it means for Bitcoin.

On Reddit, we recently asked our community: “Got questions about quantum computing and crypto?” You answered, and our CTO, Tomáš Sušánka, went through your questions and recorded his answers. Watch the full video below and check out 3 quick highlights underneath.

3 quick quantum computing takeaways

1. Quantum computers don’t work like normal computers (they aren’t “supercomputers”)

Quantum computers aren’t necessarily ‘better’ and more powerful at everything versus traditional computers. But they can solve certain types of problems dramatically faster. This is due to their ability to be in multiple states at once.

This makes them a potential threat to the cryptographic systems that secure most of the internet and your money today, including Bitcoin.

2. Quantum computing could threaten modern cryptography

No one knows exactly when a cryptographically relevant quantum computer will exist. Tomáš doesn't pretend otherwise. But he's clear on what that uncertainty actually means:

"The probability of quantum computers arriving in five years or ten years is basically non-zero. And to me, that's enough that we should focus on this…”

Is that too paranoid? Some have even suggested that discussing this spreads fear and FUD; we disagree.

Bitcoin culture leans towards being paranoid, and the threat from quantum computing is very real and probably deserves more attention than it’s gotten over the years.

Some voices in crypto, like Nic Carter, think this threat is the biggest Bitcoin faces…

“Quantum computing is, in my opinion, the biggest risk to Bitcoin. It’s a big looming problem for a lot of financial systems, and for various other blockchains too, but it’s kind of a uniquely big and intractable problem for Bitcoin.”

Current quantum computers are still too weak to pose a real-world threat today, but we shouldn’t sleep on the progress being made.

3. Post-quantum cryptography already exists

The good news: researchers aren’t waiting around, and many other industries are already actively preparing.

Read more about this:

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For years, cryptographers have been developing post-quantum algorithms designed to resist attacks from future quantum computers. The transition toward quantum-resistant security is already underway across the tech industry.

Here, Bitcoin's greatest strength becomes its biggest challenge.

We love Bitcoin because it is decentralized, unconfiscatable money… and that means change is conservative and slow by design.

Unlike centralized industries, which can implement changes relatively quickly, Bitcoin requires network consensus. People will disagree and the community could be split over which direction to take. That's not a flaw, but it does mean the preparation needs to start now.

Quantum computing still feels futuristic, but the implications are real enough that companies, researchers, and governments are actively preparing for it now. Crypto shouldn't be the last to prepare.

Read more about how we're getting ready for a quantum future below.

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