Quantum computing could break Bitcoin’s encryption and send the digital asset to zero far sooner than many people believe, according to Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards.
Speaking at TOKEN2049 earlier this month, Edwards shocked crypto enthusiasts by stating that he believes Bitcoin is under a huge threat from quantum computing, and that developers have a limited amount of time to address quantum concerns.
Bitcoin
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Bitcoin
1.80%
Bitcoin
BTC
Price
$110,927.03
1.80% /24h
Volume in 24h
$60.34B
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is down -1.1% today, slipping to $111k as ongoing trade tensions between the US and China continue to destabilize the market.
Here is the truth bomb everyone is ignoring.
20-30% of Bitcoin will be taken by a Quantum Machine within 2-8 years and there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop this. These are P2PK addresses, like Satoshis $125B, and many other old/lost coins.
Bitcoiners have a painful…
— Charles Edwards (@caprioleio) October 15, 2025
Charles Edwards: “Quantum Computing Will Break Bitcoin Within Two Years”
Edwards, a massive BTC bull, spoke at TOKEN2049, where he not only discussed Bitcoin’s potential rally to $150k but also emphasized the importance of making Bitcoin quantum-resistant with haste.
“Within two to eight years, the quantum machine will break the existing elliptic curve cryptography of Bitcoin,” Edwards said at the blockchain conference in Singapore just last week.
Edwards pointed to several official statements on the quantum threat to Bitcoin by industry experts. He cited Jameson Lopp, a Bitcoin developer, who has estimated a 50% risk in 4-9 years, and a math PhD doctor specializing in quantum computing who believes Bitcoin has 2-6 years before its encryption is broken by quantum technology.
He concluded by noting that McKinsey, one of the world’s largest management consultancy firms, has forecast that “Q-Day” will break both RSA and ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) encryption within 2-10 years, with ECC being the encryption method used in Bitcoin.
A 2017 Bitcoin quantum paper by Microsoft, BP, INQ, and Meta researchers stating that only 2300 logical qubits are needed to break Bitcoin’s ECC, with projections indicating this capability could be achieved by around 2028–2030.
To get ahead of the issue, Edwards recommends transitioning to quantum-resistant algorithms right away. “Bitcoin needs to transition to quantum-resistant algorithms like those based on lattice cryptography or hash-based signatures as soon as possible.”
After the change, Edwards says users will need to transfer funds to new addresses secured by quantum-resistant encryption. He warns that failing to do so could result in mass theft and a loss of trust in the $2T asset.
Satoshi’s Billions at Risk If the Industry Doesn’t Act Fast
If Bitcoin developers and the broader community do not take the quantum computing threat seriously, BTC is at risk of going to zero. Without Bitcoin being made quantum-resistant, there is a strong chance that bad actors will utilize the technology to crack the most lucrative BTC wallets, starting with Satoshi.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, has one publicly known BTC wallet, which holds just over 1 million Bitcoin, valued at $121Bn with current prices, according to Arkham Intelligence.
(SOURCE: Arkham)
The breach of that wallet alone could cause irreversible damage to the leading digital asset. The sell pressure alone would potentially unwind the coin, but investors, exchanges, governments, and digital asset treasury firms would also rush to dump Bitcoin before the hacker.
Then there is the loss of faith that would occur with such a public event, as nobody would be willing to touch Bitcoin if its encryption had been exploited on such a catastrophic level. It could be the end of the entire crypto industry; if BTC falls, it will likely take the entire $3.8T market down with it.
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Is QRL (Quantum Resistant Ledger) the Answer to the Quantum Computing Threat?
I missed the big move on $QRL, but it's a long term game for sure. The security technologies that the project is developing, their blockchain, their vision of the future is amazing. I think that in the long run, many will start to pay attention to the $QRL ecosystem and adopt… pic.twitter.com/FYKeS6bqzg
— Omniscius Invest (@OmnisciusInvest) October 9, 2025
QRL crypto is a token specifically designed to be secure against attacks from powerful quantum computers. It utilizes post-quantum cryptography, particularly the XMSS (eXtended Merkle Signature Scheme) algorithm, which is resistant to potential quantum computing threats.
If the Bitcoin community fails to take necessary steps to protect the leading digital asset from the threat of quantum computing, the likes of QRL could become the face of crypto.
With the potential for billions of dollars worth of BTC to be drained from wallets once quantum computing technology is fully operational, QRL crypto is taking steps now to secure itself against the same threat, which could make it one of the best investment choices right now.
(SOURCE: MarketCapOf.com)
Investors seem to agree as QRL is up +180% in the past month, barely flinching at the flash crash that wiped out nearly $20Bn from the market less than a week ago. It is currently trading for around $2.1, with a market cap of just $170M and all tokens in circulation.
If QRL were to flip BTC due to its quantum computing-resistant technology, it would offer a 13,339x gain to overtake Bitcoin at its current market cap valuation of $2.2T.
While this seems like a wild fantasy right now, quantum computing is coming quicker than many are anticipating, and if measures are not taken to secure Bitcoin soon, it could spell disaster for the leading digital asset and anyone not named Quantum Resistant Ledger (QRL)
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The post Experts Make Shocking Claim That Quantum Computing Can Destroy Bitcoin in 2 Years appeared first on 99Bitcoins.
