Coinbase has formed an independent advisory board to assess how advances in quantum computing could affect the cryptography used by major blockchain networks, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.
In a Wednesday blog post, Coinbase introduced the advisory board formed by experts in quantum computing, cryptography, distributed systems and blockchain security from academia and industry, including senior researchers from major universities, the Ethereum ecosystem and Coinbase.
The board will publish public papers assessing the state of quantum computing and its implications for blockchain systems, issue guidance for developers, organizations and users and respond to major advances in quantum technology with independent analysis.
Coinbase said the board will operate independently of the company’s management and is intended to provide industry-facing research rather than serve as an internal review body. The board is expected to publish its first position paper in early 2027, outlining a baseline assessment of quantum-related risks.
The company said the initiative will run alongside internal efforts to update Bitcoin address handling and key-management systems, as well as longer-term research into post-quantum cryptographic standards.
Related: Quantum threat to Bitcoin extends past wallet hacks: Coinbase analyst
The ongoing debate in crypto over quantum computing
Quantum computing is a form of computing that uses quantum bits, or qubits, to process information in ways that differ fundamentally from classical computers and may, at sufficient scale, challenge some of the cryptographic techniques used to secure digital systems.
As the technology advances, debate continues within the crypto industry over the scale of the risk it may pose and how quickly quantum computers could reach that level of capability.
On Friday, Jefferies strategist Christopher Wood removed Bitcoin from his flagship “Greed & Fear” model portfolio, citing concerns that advances in quantum computing could undermine the cryptocurrency’s long-term security.
In his newsletter, Wood said rising quantum risks could weaken Bitcoin’s case as a store of value for long-term, pension-style investors. He warned that faster-than-expected progress toward “cryptographically relevant” quantum machines could allow attackers to derive private keys from exposed public keys.
Others in the crypto industry have disputed the timeline. On Dec. 18, Adam Back, a cryptographer and co-founder of Blockstream, said in a series of X posts that while it is sensible for Bitcoin to be “quantum ready,” quantum computing does not pose a near-term threat.
Back argued the technology remains at a very early stage, predicting no material risk over the next decade and saying that even partial breaks in cryptography would not allow Bitcoin to be stolen, as encryption is not the network’s primary security mechanism.
A similar assessment of the timeline was echoed by Mark Thompson, co-founder and chief technologist of PsiQuantum, in a November interview with the Financial Times.
Thompson said large-scale quantum computers will eventually be capable of breaking today’s public-key encryption systems, but stressed that the hardware required remains far beyond current capabilities.
Quantum computers capable of such attacks would likely require tens of millions of qubits, he said, meaning commercial and scientific applications would emerge well before any direct threat to cryptography materializes.
Thompson argued that this gradual progression would give governments, companies and blockchain networks time to adapt, including transitioning to post-quantum cryptographic standards. He said:
When you start to see people using quantum computers to solve really genuinely important problems, then you can think right, well maybe Q-day is actually five years away, maybe 10 years away. And that’s when you should start to worry.
Magazine: Quantum attacking Bitcoin would be a waste of time: Kevin O’Leary
