Quantum computing is moving from theory to practice, and a new whitepaper warns that major cryptocurrencies need to react much faster than they have so far. The study shows that once a powerful enough quantum computer exists, it could break the cryptography behind Bitcoin, Ethereum and other chains in minutes, putting both long‑dormant and active assets at risk. Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!) Google Quantum AI released a whitepaper, warning that around 2.3 million dormant, vulnerable BTC could become a multi‑billion‑dollar prize the moment a powerful quantum machine comes online. - Options Technology Introduces Quantum Computing Into Market Infrastructure Behind FX and CFDs - Banks Prepare for a Quantum Cypherpunk Future - Quantum Computing and Payment Security Simply, this new research says that once powerful quantum computers arrive, they will be able to “guess” some old Bitcoin keys fast enough to move coins that nobody can currently access, turning a huge pool of forgotten BTC into a prize for whoever gets the technology first. Google Quantum AI released a whitepaper warning that cracking 256-bit ECC, widely used in crypto wallets, requires fewer resources than expected. With under 500k physical qubits, it could be cracked in minutes. Google urged the industry to accelerate its migration to Post-Quantum… pic.twitter.com/DpdSPmYhYc — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) March 31, 2026 Dormant Bitcoin as a Quantum Time Bomb Technically, the paper estimates that a future “fast‑clock” quantum computer with fewer than 500,000 physical qubits could use Shor’s algorithm to break Bitcoin’s 256‑bit elliptic curve in about nine minutes from a primed state. That speed is comparable to Bitcoin’s average 10‑minute block time, meaning an attacker could potentially intercept some pending transactions and redirect funds before they confirm. Read more: Quantum Computing and Payment Security Google’s team showed, on