Nobel-winning physicist warns bitcoin could be early target of quantum computing - CoinDesk

Finance Share Bitcoin quantum threat is real and closer than it looks, says Nobel prize winning physicist Former Google quantum hardware leader and winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics, John Martinis, warns that breaking encryption will be among the earliest uses of quantum computing By Olivier Acuna|Edited by Stephen Alpher Updated Apr 7, 2026, 9:49 a.m. Published Apr 7, 2026, 8:44 a.m. Make preferred on Research-backed warning highlights encryption as one of the first practical applications for powerful quantum machines. (Planet Volumes-Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk) What to know: John M. Martinis, a Nobel Prize–winning physicist who helped build Google’s quantum computers, warns that Bitcoin could be among the earliest real-world targets of quantum attacks. A recent Google paper he endorses shows how a sufficiently advanced quantum computer could derive a bitcoin private key from its public key in minutes, exploiting the brief window when a transaction’s public key is exposed. While Martinis believes building such powerful quantum machines may take five to ten years and remains a major engineering challenge, he says the bitcoin community must start planning now for quantum-resistant upgrades despite the network’s slow, decentralized governance. Bitcoin News More For You Trump-linked American Bitcoin shares spike over 12% after announcing more mining power By Olivier Acuna|Edited by Nikhilesh De 12 hours ago The Trump family-linked mining and treasury company announced 11,298 additional bitcoin mining ASICs at its Drumheller site. What to know: American Bitcoin, a mining and treasury firm tied to Donald Trump's family, added nearly 11,300 new bitcoin mining rigs at its Drumheller, Alberta, site, sending its share price up about 12% to $1.38. The deployment boosts the company’s fleet to roughly 89,242 ASIC miners and adds 3.05 exahash per second... Read Full Story Latest Crypto News World Liberty accuses Justin Sun of 'misconduct' in response to Tron founder's defamation claims 17 minutes ago Kalshi flags more insider trading cases, including politician who appeared on FBoy Island 6 hours ago Elon Musk's Tesla reports unchanged bitcoin holdings, books $173 million digital asset loss 7 hours ago The question isn't whether privacy. It's what sort of privacy 9 hours ago Banks seek to slow down implementation of crypto's GENIUS Act on stablecoin oversight 11 hours ago The Protocol: Kelp DAO exploited for $292 million 11 hours ago Top Stories The $292 million Kelp DAO exploit shows why crypto bridges are still one of the industry's weakest links 12 hours ago Crypto giant GSR launches its first ETF to give investors an easy way to bet on the big 3 tokens 13 hours ago Bitcoin breaks Strategy's STRC ex-dividend date slump for the first time in six months 12 hours ago Tron's Justin Sun sues Trump-linked World Liberty Financial over frozen assets 22 hours ago Another DeFi protocol loses millions in hack days after KelpDAO breach 20 hours ago A make or break moment: why $79,200 could act as a launchpad or a ceiling for bitcoin 19 hours ago In This Article BTC $78,068.51 ◢2.57%