The Quantum Threat to Bitcoin: How a Powerful Computer Can Steal Your Coins in Under 10 Minutes
The security of bitcoin relies on a complex mathematical system called elliptic curve cryptography, which is based on a one-way function that makes it easy to generate a public key from a private key, but extremely difficult to reverse the process. However, a quantum algorithm known as Shor's algorithm can potentially break this encryption, allowing an attacker to derive a private key from a publ…
April 18, 2026, 3:51 a.m.