Tech giant Google announced a timeline to migrate its core security systems to quantum-resistant encryption by 2029, citing faster-than-expected hardware progress. This urgency is shared by cryptocurrency developers, as quantum computers could theoretically break the encryption securing digital assets worth hundreds of billions of dollars on networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Google has set an ambitious timeline to migrate most of its authentication and digital signature models to post-quantum cryptography by 2029. The company cited faster-than-expected progress in quantum hardware development, error correction, and factoring resource estimates.
A day earlier, the Ethereum Foundation published a four-pronged roadmap to protect its $260 billion network with a similar 2029 target. Researchers inside the foundation don’t think quantum computing will be “cryptographically relevant” for another eight to 12 years, but acknowledge “the work must begin well before the threat arrives.”
Google identifies two main quantum risks. The first is “store-now-decrypt-later” attacks, where data is captured today for future decryption. The second threat directly targets the digital signatures that authenticate cryptocurrency transactions, which could allow wallets to be drained.
The potential financial impact is significant. Chaincode Labs has estimated up to 50% of all Bitcoin—roughly $700 billion—is vulnerable to a quantum attack. This concern echoes at the highest levels of finance, with UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti having previously sounded the alarm.
Bitcoin developers are also preparing a preemptive proposal, dubbed BIP360. “Our whole motto is: prepared, not scared,” one of the proposal’s authors stated.
