Bitcoin Devs’ Inaction on Quantum Will Frustrate Institutions: VC

Major Bitcoin-holding institutions may eventually lose patience with Bitcoin developers for not addressing quantum computing concerns quickly enough, according to venture capitalist Nic Carter.

“I think the big institutions that now exist in Bitcoin, they will get fed up, and they will fire the devs and put in new devs,” Carter said during the Bits and Bips podcast episode published on Thursday.

“I think the devs will continue to do nothing,” Carter said.

“If you’re BlackRock and you have billions of dollars of client assets in this thing and its problems aren’t being addressed, what choice do you have?” he said. 

“Corporate takeover” is a possibility, says Carter

BlackRock holds around 761,801 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at roughly $50.15 billion as of publication. That amounts to around 3.62% of Bitcoin’s total supply.

Carter warned that if Bitcoin developers don’t move quickly to implement quantum-resistant cryptography, major asset managers could intervene.

“If unaddressed by the devs organically, it will lead to a corporate takeover, a successful one,” he said.

Zero Knowledge Consulting founder Austin Campbell echoed a similar sentiment. “If there is a structural problem here, and they have a large view, eventually they are going to be required to speak up,” Campbell said.

Carter has been vocal recently about the threat that quantum computing poses to Bitcoin. He said on Jan. 21 that Bitcoin’s “mysterious” price underperformance is “due to quantum” and is “the only story that matters this year.”

Bitcoin is trading at $70,281 at the time of publication, down 26.25% over the past 30 days, according to CoinMarketCap.