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The announcement dates back to Tuesday, March 25, 2026. Google has just released an official timeline for migrating to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) by 2029. Behind this technical term lies a reality that directly affects Bitcoin holders: quantum computers are moving… fast.
In short
- Google has set a post-quantum migration deadline of 2029 for its entire infrastructure.
- Roughly 6.8 million BTC are in theoretically vulnerable addresses.
- The estimated qubits needed to crack Bitcoin have dropped from 20 million to 100,000.
- BIP 360 is the only formal response from the Bitcoin network – no activation is planned at this stage.
- Bitcoin migration would take 5 to 10 years, according to Jameson Lopp (Casa).
Bitcoin faces a quantum threat: why is 2029 a significant date?
Heather Adkins, Google’s vice president of security, and Sophie Schmieg, a cryptographic engineer, signed the unequivocal official note. According to them, it is quantum boundaries they seem closer than they seem. The threat is fast approaching.
They identify two types of risk in the timeline and the first is happening now. Malicious actors are currently collecting encrypted data and intend to decrypt it later. This technique is called “harvest now, decrypt later”. The second is a future risk: when a powerful enough quantum computer is operational, it will be able to break the digital signatures that secure the internet.
Tea Bitcoin crypto network related to ECDSA, elliptic curve signatures. This is exactly the type of algorithm that can theoretically break Shor’s algorithm. The result: from the revealed public key, a quantum computer could derive a private key. And then the funds would be within reach.
According to Project Eleven, a company specializing in quantum security, about 6.8 million bitcoins are in vulnerable addresses. This represents more than $470 billion. Meanwhile, Ark Invest and Unchained estimate that 35% of the total BTC supply would eventually be issued.
How can Bitcoin protect itself against Q-Day 2029?
The problem is not only technical. This also applies to public administration.
- Google controls its infrastructure.
- Bitcoin is governed by decentralized consensus.
- No team can choose to migrate alone.
- Every miner, developer, exchange and user must move at the same time.
Jameson Lopp, co-founder of bitcoin escrow service Casa, is blunt:
At present, we are still very far from a quantum computer usable in cryptography, at least to the best of our knowledge.
However, he adds that Bitcoin crypto network migration it can take five to ten years.
A specific proposal exists: BIP 360 (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal). It introduces a quantum-resistant address format called Pay-to-Merkle-Root. This proposal has been officially added to the official bitcoin proposal repository. It doesn’t activate anything yet. But it starts the clock.
On Google’s side, the reaction is already underway. Android 17 will integrate ML-DSA, an algorithm standardized by NIST secure digital signatures. IBM is aiming for the same horizons. The race is now running. And the latest Iceberg Quantum estimates suggest that only 100,000 qubits (compared to 20 million previously) would now be enough to compromise current systems.
So 2029 is no longer an abstraction. It’s a deadline. Google set it up themselves. Bitcoin hasn’t decided yet. The real question now is whether the crypto community will act before the threat becomes a reality.
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My name is Ariela and I am 31 years old. I have been working in the field of web development for 7 years. I only discovered trading and cryptocurrencies a few years ago, but it’s a universe I’m very interested in. The topics on the platform allow me to learn more. As a singer in my spare time, I also have a great passion for music and reading (and animals!)
DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY
The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be taken as investment advice. Before making any investment decision, do your own research.
