Quantum clock is ticking on $BTC, and institutions are checking theirs

Concerns about quantum computing are already limiting institutional investment in Bitcoin, according to Stacks founder Muneeb Ali, who said uncertainty over the network’s long-term security is creating a ceiling on its growth. “There is already a ceiling on the growth of Bitcoin because of quantum fears,” Ali said during an interview on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction podcast. US spot Bitcoin ETFs have amassed more than $104 billion in net assets, according to BitBo data.

Ali said developers need a credible roadmap for quantum-resistant security, with meaningful progress required by 2028 and a target of 2030 for completing the transition based on guidance from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He said advances in artificial intelligence could accelerate quantum computer development and bring the timeline forward to 2029. Upgrades typically take years to implement, followed by additional time for users to move their holdings to quantum-resistant addresses.

Ali acknowledged that some Bitcoin proponents consider the quantum computing threat distant and the risks overblown, but said disagreement over the urgency of the threat could itself undermine investor confidence. He argued that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer would be more likely to emerge from a major research laboratory such as Google or Microsoft than from an unknown attacker, as companies would have little incentive to steal Bitcoin because of the potential legal consequences. “If Bitcoin gets hit, everyone gets hit downstream as well,” he said.

Developers are also exploring quantum-resistant approaches. In September, StarkWare reported that researchers had reduced the estimated computing cost of preparing an experimental quantum-resistant Bitcoin transaction by 79% during a weeklong optimization challenge. The method requires no changes to Bitcoin’s consensus rules, but the latest reductions have been demonstrated only in benchmark tests. StarkWare describes the technology as a last-resort measure and continues to advocate a protocol-level upgrade as a longer-term solution.

Ripple has separately received final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank. Ripple National Trust Bank will operate under federal supervision, manage reserves backing the RLUSD stablecoin, serve as a collateral trustee for tokenholders and provide digital asset custody. RLUSD will continue to be issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, which is regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said, “crypto and banks work better together.” The decision follows final approval for Circle in July.