Overview

• Anatoly Yakovenko said there is a roughly 50% chance within five years that quantum computers could run Shor’s algorithm, urging a proactive move to quantum-safe signatures.
• He linked his urgency to rapid AI-driven research-to-implementation cycles and pointed to Google and Apple adopting quantum-resistant stacks as a signal to start migration work.
• Shifting Bitcoin off ECDSA would likely require significant protocol changes—potentially a hard fork—plus coordinated wallet and client updates to avoid key exposure.
• Industry figures remain divided on timing: Adam Back and Samson Mow see practical threats as years away, while voices like David Carvalho and Google’s Craig Gidney flag accelerating risk; Bitcoin developers Peter Todd and Luke Dashjr also downplayed near-term danger.
• Coverage shows the debate has intensified since the remarks, yet the Bitcoin community has not settled on a timeline or plan, even as Yakovenko praised proof-of-work for current resilience.