Shaw: Quantum Computing Threat to Bitcoin Is Nonsense, FUDsters Know Nothing

December 31 ElizaOS founder Shaw weighed in on the “quantum computing threat to Bitcoin” on Monday, pushing back against media hype by noting its actualization is far further off than current coverage suggests. For hash functions like SHA-256, Grover’s algorithm only cuts the search space from 2^256 to 2^128—but 2^128 remains unbreakable with foreseeable technology. Shor’s algorithm can theoretically crack RSA/ECDSA encryption, but today’s quantum computers rely mostly on preprocessing or known-factor optimizations, not a full universal implementation of Shor’s algorithm. Cracking Bitcoin (a real-time network) would demand fast, repeated executions. If that were to happen, all encrypted data would be exposed—making Bitcoin the least of our worries. Modern cryptography has always accounted for future computational advances, and quantum acceleration was anticipated and built into designs decades ago. “Next time you see fear-mongering or hype about quantum computing, remember this: those folks have no clue what they’re talking about,” Shaw emphasized.