Bitcoin to Zero? Adam Back Debunks Quantum FUD

Cover image via U.Today Read U.TODAY on Google News In a recent social media post, Blockstream CEO Adam Back has dismissed quantum FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) around Bitcoin, exposing that some fearmongering stems from the lack of understanding of how the network actually works. Advertisement Writer Josh Otten has argued that a quantum computer could use Shor’s algorithm to break "the encryption guarding Bitcoin’s earliest wallets." "This would expose the private keys to Satoshi Nakamoto’s fortune, likely crashing the market and destroying trust in the whole system," he predicted. HOT Stories Bitcoin to Zero? Adam Back Debunks Quantum FUD Morning Crypto Report: World's Highest IQ Holder Turns to XRP, Cardano on the Verge of 40% Surge, Shiba Inu (SHIB) Loses $110 Million in Just 24 Hours Schiff Jumps on Saylor's McDonald's Pic Crypto Market Prediction: XRP's Engines Are Hot Enough for a Rally, Ethereum (ETH): One More Price Surge Attempt, Shiba Inu (SHIB) Does Not Want to Stop at $0.000008 According to Otten, this is the likeliest scenario that could push the price of Bitcoin to nearly zero in virtually no time. Advertisement This implies that the private keys to early Bitcoin addresses could be exposed. However, Bitcoin wallets rely on elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) for signing transactions, specifically the secp256k1 curve. Private keys are used to sign transactions while public keys and addresses allow verification. This is not the same as encrypting data. Encryption implies that data is hidden and can be decrypted. Bitcoin's security model is based on signatures that prove ownership without exposing the private key. Advertisement You Might Also Like Fri, 11/21/2025 - 10:58 John Woods Names Only Condition for Bitcoin to Achieve Quantum Resistance By Godfrey Benjamin Quantum computers threaten the signing algorithm, not encryption per se. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could theoretically use Shor’s algorithm to derive private keys from public keys. However, addresses don’t reveal public keys until you spend from them. Early Bitcoin wallets that have never spent their coins haven’t revealed their public keys. Assessing quantum threat Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has warned that the quantum threat is real and measurable. Solana's Anatoly Yakovenko has estimated that there is a 50/50 chance that enough quantum power could exist to threaten Bitcoin’s cryptography within the next five years. However, Back has explicitly stated that Bitcoin is unlikely to face a meaningful quantum computing threat for 20–40 years (if ever). Even the most advanced systems today have high qubit counts but lack the error‑corrected logical qubits needed to run algorithms like Shor’s at scale. Moreover, post-quantum cryptography already exists. #Bitcoin Price Prediction #Bitcoin News #Quantum Computing #Adam Back