What happened?
Bitcoin is trading around $111,307 after a small rebound, but analysts are sounding alarms about a new technical risk: quantum computing. Charles Edwards warned that quantum advances could let attackers derive private keys from public ones and, if not addressed quickly, might trigger the biggest bear market in Bitcoin’s history. Research cited suggests roughly 2,300 logical qubits could break Bitcoin’s elliptic curve cryptography within a few years while tech giants and governments race to scale quantum systems.
Who does this affect?
This affects anyone with Bitcoin exposure — retail holders, institutional investors, exchanges and corporate treasuries holding crypto on their balance sheets. It also puts pressure on developers, wallet providers and protocol teams to implement quantum-resistant solutions before attackers can exploit the weakness. Traders and market makers are vulnerable too, since rising uncertainty can reduce liquidity and make technical price levels much more fragile.
Why does this matter?
If quantum computing becomes a practical threat before protections are widely deployed, it could spark massive selling, widespread wallet compromises and a price crash far worse than ordinary macro-driven bear markets. That would damage market confidence, strain custodians and exchanges, and force costly migrations or protocol changes that add more volatility and fragmentation. Even the prospect of “Q‑Day” is already affecting risk pricing, making crypto prices more sensitive to news and increasing short-term market risk.