Overview
- Christopher Wood, Jefferies’ global head of equity strategy, removed the portfolio’s entire 10% Bitcoin allocation and shifted 5% to physical gold and 5% to gold‑mining stocks.
- Wood cited the possibility that cryptographically relevant quantum computers could derive private keys from public keys in hours or days, weakening Bitcoin’s long‑term store‑of‑value case.
- Analyses highlight millions of potentially vulnerable coins due to early P2PK outputs, address reuse, and lost wallets, with cited ranges from about 600,000 to 6.5 million BTC and some studies warning of a far larger share.
- Views diverge on timing and mitigation: some analysts see a risk within a few years without upgrades, while developers such as Blockstream’s Adam Back argue the threat is likely decades away and that post‑quantum signatures can be adopted.
- Near‑term price impact is described as limited, yet Coinbase research and Jefferies’ exit have moved quantum risk into mainstream portfolio discussions, prompting some allocators to favor gold’s track record.