What if the biggest peril for Bitcoin was not the quantum computer … but the media threshing that surrounds it? In any case, this is what Michael Saylor thinks, the Pope of Strategy and tireless Héraut du BTC, who sees in the spectrum of quantum computer science a marketing operation to inflate junk cryptos. We take stock.
- Michael Saylor said that the real danger for Bitcoin was not the quantum computer, but rather the media threw surrounding him.
- Google has published a study suggesting that quantum computers could break modern cryptography earlier than expected, but the calendar remains uncertain.
The Quantum Fud, a ruse of Camelots according to Saylor
Interviewed CNBCthe essential Saylor has set off its arrows against the quantum:
« It is mainly marketing from people who want to sell you the next quantum yo-yo »
For him, waving the red cloth of Q-Day-the day when quantum computers will break modern cryptography-is more of storytelling than an imminent threat.
And even if this apocalypse had to occur, Saylor remains stoic:
“We will simply update the network. As Google or Microsoft do it all the time. »»
Google is sounding the alarm: the quantum, a puzzle for cryptography
To understand why quantum computer science worries as much the world of crypto, we must return to the base: the Bitcoin safety is based on an cryptography algorithm named ECDSAbased on elliptical curves. This algorithm makes it possible to create a public key from a private key, without the opposite being possible – at least with conventional computers. It is this mathematical lock that protects your bitcoins.
But now, quantum computers, and with her, the algorithm of Shor. The latter, cut for quantum machines, makes it possible to solve in record time mathematical problems considered as unbreakable. Result: if a sufficiently powerful quantum computer was born, it could theoretically find private keys from their public keys – in other words, steal bitcoins without even having to guess your password.
And that’s where Google throws a pavement in the pond. In a study published on May 23, 2025, his researchers believe that breaking the RSA-2048 algorithm, a standard of cryptography used everywhere (from websites to governments), would be 20 times simpler than we thought. Worse: This method could apply to ECDSA, Bitcoin algorithm, deemed to be more vulnerable to quantum.
Concretely, where we thought it would take 20 million qubits to break RSA, the study shows that a million would be enough. What about Bitcoin? We are talking about 2,000 logical qubits for a 256 -bit key. Suffice to say that the day the equipment follows, the risk will become palpable.
That day has a name: the Q-Day. It will mark the moment when quantum IT can break the mathematical foundations of current cybersecurity. It is not for tomorrow, but it is no longer a science fiction either.
Bitcoin safety: the weak link is not where you believe
For Saylor, the real danger is not in the Silicon Valley laboratories, but in user mail boxes.
“You are 10,000 times more likely to lose your bitcoins because of a phishing than a quantum computer. »»
A welcome recall stitch: social engineering remains the number one weapon of hackers, far ahead of futuristic calculators.
So, should we fear quantum computers? Yes, but not tomorrow morning. The Q-Day may be on the road, but the GPS is still vague. In the meantime, between protocol updates and post-quantic cryptography, the Bitcoin world is preparing to rotate, as it has always done.