Bitcoin and Ethereum face $300M quantum race
- The US has committed up to $300 million to three quantum computing companies.
- Ethereum has set December 2029 as its quantum-resistant target, while Bitcoin has no fixed deadline.
- Bitcoin and Ethereum developers have been preparing for machines that could eventually break current wallet security.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) have been preparing for quantum threats as the US backs $300 million in hardware funding.
The US Commerce Department has awarded up to $100 million each to Rigetti, D-Wave and Quantinuum.
Ethereum has set December 2029 as its target for making its base layer quantum-resistant.
Bitcoin has no network-wide deadline, but developers have advanced BIP-360 and BIP-361 to support a phased security upgrade.
The threat is not expected to hit Bitcoin or Ethereum by 2029, but moving exposed wallets could take years.
Google Quantum AI has estimated that breaking current 256-bit cryptography could require fewer than 1,200 error-corrected qubits.
Bitcoin also faces exposed public keys, while Ethereum must move wallets, applications and users to new signature systems.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $78,241.45.
