Three EU financial regulators issued a joint risk update stating that advances in quantum computing could undermine the cryptographic technologies currently used to secure blockchain and financial systems. This warning highlights long-term security concerns for crypto asset networks and has renewed market focus on the quantum-resistant pathways for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Three institutions jointly issue a risk warning.
The agencies issuing the warning include the European Banking Authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, and the European Securities and Markets Authority. The three agencies stated that quantum computing could potentially impact fundamental security aspects such as transaction verification, communication transmission, and database protection in the future.
Quantum computers capable of launching such attacks do not currently exist. However, regulators believe that advancements in this technology warrant ongoing monitoring, especially given the widespread reliance of financial infrastructure and cryptocurrency networks on existing cryptographic schemes.
Google lowers the threshold for evaluating attacks
Prior to this risk advisory, Google Quantum AI provided a more detailed assessment in March of this year. Researchers stated that the number of physical qubits required to break the cryptographic systems used by many cryptocurrencies may be only about one-twentieth of previous estimates.
Qubits are the fundamental units of quantum computers. While this does not mean that real-world attacks are currently feasible, it indicates that the theoretical threshold for such attacks is decreasing, thereby intensifying industry discussions around long-term migration solutions.
Solutions have been implemented for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
For cryptocurrency holders, the core risk is that, should sufficiently powerful quantum computers emerge in the future, attackers could derive private keys from exposed public keys and initiate unauthorized transfers.
In February of this year, Bitcoin developer Jameson Lopp, along with five other co-developers, proposed a plan to gradually phase out the current signature method used by the network and, five years after proposal activation, restrict spending for funds that have not yet been migrated. However, this proposal has not yet been adopted.
The Ethereum Foundation has proposed a more specific timeline, aiming to make Ethereum quantum-resistant at the execution, consensus, and data layers by December 2029.
From the current perspective, quantum computing remains a medium- to long-term threat to cryptographic networks. However, as research advances more rapidly, preparations for cryptographic upgrades by public chain developers, wallet providers, and infrastructure operators are gaining increased attention.