- Michael Saylor dismisses quantum computing as a major Bitcoin threat, calling it overhyped and manageable.
- Google’s research raised alarms, but Saylor argues traditional institutions would face risk long before Bitcoin.
- Phishing scams, he says, are a far more realistic danger to crypto holders than futuristic quantum hacks.
Bitcoin might have its fair share of critics, but Michael Saylor isn’t losing sleep over quantum computing. The outspoken Bitcoin bull and co-founder of Strategy brushed off the notion that quantum tech could unravel Bitcoin’s core security. In a chat with Bloomberg, he waved away the doomsday takes, calling the idea “overhyped” and something we’ll easily see coming.
Saylor pointed out that even the big names like Microsoft and Google — who are developing quantum tech — wouldn’t dare build machines that destroy encryption. Why? Because it’d basically blow up their own businesses. According to him, if quantum computers ever did become strong enough to break crypto protections, it wouldn’t be Bitcoin getting hit first — it’d be banks, governments, and tech companies that go down before it even touches blockchain.
Quantum Scare or Just Another Buzz?
Sure, there’s some buzz right now. Google recently published a paper suggesting quantum machines might break RSA encryption way faster than we thought — like 20 times faster. But Saylor’s not fazed. “There’s no real application yet,” he said. He thinks even if quantum leaps happen in the next decade or two, they’ll be a bigger headache for traditional systems than Bitcoin.
Still, people in crypto aren’t sitting idle. In April, a group called Project 11 actually offered a 1 BTC bounty (about $110K at the time) to the first team that can crack a simplified version of Bitcoin’s encryption using quantum tech. Spoiler: nobody’s done it yet.
Saylor Says Phishing’s the Real Threat
In a separate interview with CNBC, Saylor joked that phishing emails are a bigger risk to your Bitcoin than some theoretical supercomputer. “If I wanted your BTC, I’d just email you: ‘Quantum computers can hack your wallet — click here to upgrade,’ and boom—gone,” he said. He’s betting it’s 10,000 times more likely you get tricked than actually hacked by quantum code.
Even if — and it’s a big if — quantum machines become powerful enough to break today’s encryption, Saylor thinks the crypto world will adapt. And it won’t be caught off guard. Bitcoin’s community has a knack for upgrades when it counts.
Strategy, by the way, now holds nearly $64 billion in Bitcoin. They were early movers in this whole Bitcoin treasury trend, and lots of companies have followed suit.
