Headline: Solana Co-Founder Sounds Alarm on Quantum Risks Looming Over Bitcoin Translation: Solana Co-Founder Sounds Alarm on Quantum Risks Looming Over Bitcoin

The community needs to hasten the implementation of measures to protect the first cryptocurrency from quantum threats, as advancements in computational technology may exceed expectations. This was stated by Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana.

During the All-In Summit 2025 podcast, he expressed his belief that there is a 50% chance of a significant breakthrough in this area within the next five years.

«We must transition Bitcoin to a quantum-resistant signature system. That’s my bet because right now, a convergence of various technologies is happening. The asymptotic pace of AI and how rapidly it accelerates from research paper to deployment is simply astonishing,» Yakovenko noted.

He suggested that the primary indicator for migrating the architecture of digital gold would be the adoption of quantum-resistant cryptography by major technology companies.

«So, keep an eye on where Google is heading,» he advised.

Warning about long-term threats, Yakovenko emphasized the resilience of the first cryptocurrency against existing risks.

He expressed confidence that a potential collapse of companies holding Bitcoin treasury, such as Strategy, could shock the market but would not destroy the asset itself due to its decentralized nature.

«I believe as long as there is open global competition for acquiring Bitcoins, […] and as long as we don’t find ourselves in some regulatory nightmare like in the 1970s when buying gold was prohibited, it will withstand such shocks,» Yakovenko stated.

The co-founder of Solana also praised the Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm as a robust defense for digital gold against coordinated attacks and large-scale hacks.

«The beauty of it is that it’s the simplest protocol to build, as it’s solely focused on transactions. It’s very easy to understand from an engineering perspective, and PoW is a masterpiece in terms of elegance and simplicity,» he added.

In December 2024, Google Quantum AI introduced the Willow chip, which has drawn attention within the crypto community regarding its potential as a quantum threat to Bitcoin.

Experts are divided in their opinions. Some pointed out that from a mathematical standpoint, the risk of hacking the first cryptocurrency seems incredibly distant. Capriole Fund founder Charles Edwards responded to the optimists that they overlook the exponential trajectory of technology development. He cited AI as an example.

A similar viewpoint was expressed by Pierre-Luc Daller-Demers, a scientist from the University of Calgary. He estimates that there are about five years left until commercial quantum computers can breach Bitcoin wallet protections.

Regardless of the probable timelines, the community has begun to discuss the implications for assets held on vulnerable addresses. This includes lost coins, including approximately 1 million BTC, likely belonging to Satoshi Nakamoto. CEO of Tether, Paolo Ardoino, believes that these Bitcoins will eventually be hacked and returned to circulation.

Casa co-founder Jameson Lopp opposed the idea of recovering lost coins through quantum computing and suggested that they should be preemptively burned.

At the same time, specialists from Chaincode Labs estimate that potentially 20% to 50% of all Bitcoins in circulation (4-10 million BTC) are at risk of being hacked.

Developers are exploring various approaches to protecting the first cryptocurrency from quantum threats.

It’s worth noting that analysts at Mysten Labs concluded that the Solana blockchain is more resistant to such risks than Bitcoin and Ethereum.