Shaw: The threat of quantum computing to Bitcoin is nonsense; speculators know nothing.

On December 31, ElizaOS founder Shaw expressed his views on “Quantum Computing Threatening Bitcoin.” Its realization is much farther off than current media reports suggest. For hash functions like SHA-256, Grover’s algorithm only reduces the search space from 2²⁵⁶ to 2¹²⁸, but 2¹²⁸ is still unbreakable. Shor’s algorithm can theoretically crack RSA/ECDSA encryption, but current quantum computers typically rely on preprocessing or prior knowledge of factors for optimization, and are not pure implementations of Shor’s algorithm. To crack Bitcoin, a real-time network, it would require rapid repeated execution. If feasible, all encrypted data would be exposed, making Bitcoin a minor issue. Modern cryptography has always assumed future computational growth; quadratic acceleration was anticipated and considered decades ago. Whenever you see fear-mongering or hype around quantum computing, remember: these people know nothing at all.