Cyber Security

How Real Is The Quantum Threat?

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How Real Is The Quantum Threat?

A new panel has been officially announced to take place at Bitcoin 2026 titled “How Real is the Quantum Threat?” The discussion will include five voices at the heart of one of the most debated technical questions in Bitcoin today, and the program reflects the full range of opinions that the topic demands.

The panel includes:

Hunter Beast, chief protocol engineer of the Anduro sidechain platform inspired by MARA, is a co-author of BIP 360, a proposal that establishes a new type of Bitcoin wallet address designed to protect the network from the threat of quantum computing. BIP 360 was merged with the Bitcoin Core BIP repository in February 2026 and was included in the Bitcoin Quantum Testnet v0.3.0 in March, marking a major advance in the development of Bitcoin.

James O’Beirne has been a Bitcoin Core contributor since 2015 and leads many projects including OP_VAULT (BIP-345) and susumeutxo, formerly of Chaincode Labs.

Brandon Black is a Bitcoin software engineer who has spoken publicly about why quantum computing moments are often misunderstood by the wider market.

Charles Edwards of Capriole pointed out that quantum computing is developing faster than expected and promoted the implementation of BIP-360 for 2026.

Alex Thorn, the head of research at Galaxy Digital, took a more measured position arguing that the quantum threat to Bitcoin is real but limited today, affecting only some exposed wallets, and that developers are developing ways to deal with them over time.

The panel will cover one of the most discussed technical topics in Bitcoin today – how quantum computing is developing, where Bitcoin cryptography stands, and what the path to long-term protocol consolidation looks like. Developers are already working on a number of solutions, including price resistance addresses and segmented improvement proposals, and this panel brings together the brightest minds working on these improvements. It takes place on April 29 at the Nakamoto Stage at Bitcoin 2026, The Venetian Resort, Las Vegas.