BlackRock show concern; Says BTC Source Code Could Be Rendered Flawed

[Abiky]

Yeah BlackRock Issues Bitcoin Warning, Says BTC Source Code Could Be Rendered ‘Flawed or Ineffective’ by Quantum Computing

BlackRock, which is the first ever successful Bitcoin ETF, now holds over 275,000 Bitcoins, through its shares Bitcoin Trust (IBTT). Recenyl they raised a concern that Bitcoin source code and cryptographic security could be broken, if not now but in the future by quantum computers which impose a huge risk to how large they hold Bitcoin. The concern is specifically on how fast quantum computers can advance.

Actually, everything (emails, banks, treasury, https website, messaging/privacy apps, VPN etc) will be rendered flawed or ineffective by quantum computing.

Forbes
Cointelegraph

The amended prospectus, filed on May 9, includes extensive details about how quantum computing advances could compromise Bitcoin’s cryptographic security.
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 9, 2025.

“…In the past, flaws in the source code for digital assets have been exposed and exploited, including flaws that disabled some functionality for users, exposed users’ personal information and/or resulted in the theft of users’ digital assets.

The cryptography underlying Bitcoin could prove to be flawed or ineffective, or developments in mathematics and/or technology, including advances in digital computing, algebraic geometry and quantum computing, could result in such cryptography becoming ineffective. In any of these circumstances, a malicious actor may be able to compromise the security of the Bitcoin network or take the Trust’s Bitcoin, which would adversely affect the value of the Shares. Moreover, the functionality of the Bitcoin network may be negatively affected such that it is no longer attractive to users,
thereby dampening demand for Bitcoin.

Even if another digital asset other than bitcoin were affected by similar circumstances, any reduction in confidence in the source code or cryptography underlying digital assets generally could negatively affect the demand for digital assets and therefore adversely affect the value of the Shares.

Moreover, because digital assets, including bitcoin, have been in existence for a short period of time and are continuing to develop, there may be additional risks in the future that are impossible to predict as of the date of this prospectus.”

Sources
THE DAILY HODL

So now they're the experts in Blockchain network security? QC isn't even a threat and BlackRock is seriously concerned about Bitcoin? Really? I think this is nothing more than FUD. Probably a strategy for market prices to dip a little bit for them to buy more Bitcoin. AFAIK, developers are already working on a solution against a possible QC attack in the future. Once the solution gets the "green light" from the community (nodes + miners), Bitcoin will already be one step ahead of the game. Even now, it's hard to crackdown on Bitcoin's security due to the ever-increasing network hashrate. The more miners there are, the harder it will be to disrupt the Bitcoin blockchain.

For what I know, Bitcoin is the most secure digital currency system on Earth. The source code is open to anyone, so it's easy to fix Bitcoin's "flaws". I sure hope BlackRock doesn't get directly involved in the development process (by bribing/blackmailing Bitcoin core developers), or Bitcoin will be doomed. We can't tell what will happen in the future, so anything's possible.

[Publictalk792]

They have to make all information available & be transparent to investors. In truth, if Quantum a Computing becomes a reality any time soon then Bitcoin will be far down the list in potential attack targets. Malicious actors would target banking, social security numbers, addresses, nuclear weapon activation codes. Bitcoin can be forked & Quantum resistant Bitcoin addresses will become a thing soon any way. Do not worry, Bitcoin will be fine.

You are right about transparency for investors and how threat of quantum computing to Bitcoin is mostly exaggerated. If quantum computers become powerful enough to break today security much bigger targets like national security systems or banks or vital infrastructure would be attacked first not Bitcoin. Plus Bitcoin can change and adapt its open source nature means developers can create quantum resistant addresses and other upgrades to deal with future risks. So while quantum attacks are theoretically possible they are not immediate worry and Bitcoin ability to evolve makes its future secure.

[davis196]

BlackRock, which is the first ever successful Bitcoin ETF, now holds over 275,000 Bitcoins, through its shares Bitcoin Trust (IBTT). Recenyl they raised a concern that Bitcoin source code and cryptographic security could be broken, if not now but in the future by quantum computers which impose a huge risk to how large they hold Bitcoin. The concern is specifically on how fast quantum computers can advance.

Actually, everything (emails, banks, treasury, https website, messaging/privacy apps, VPN etc) will be rendered flawed or ineffective by quantum computing.

If BlackRock are so worried about quantum computing, why don't they sell all their 275,000 BTC? Issuing a statement about "being worried" while keeping all your BTC means only one thing. Spreading FUD on the markets. Most of the victims of this FUD are going to be newbie investors, who know very little about Bitcoin and quantum computing. I'm sure that Bitcoin is about to change and it will definitely survive the "quantum computers era". Maybe the guys at BlackRock should do more research about the subject, before issuing statements.

[X-ray]

They have to make all information available & be transparent to investors. In truth, if Quantum a Computing becomes a reality any time soon then Bitcoin will be far down the list in potential attack targets. Malicious actors would target banking, social security numbers, addresses, nuclear weapon activation codes. Bitcoin can be forked & Quantum resistant Bitcoin addresses will become a thing soon any way. Do not worry, Bitcoin will be fine.

You are right about transparency for investors and how threat of quantum computing to Bitcoin is mostly exaggerated. If quantum computers become powerful enough to break today security much bigger targets like national security systems or banks or vital infrastructure would be attacked first not Bitcoin. Plus Bitcoin can change and adapt its open source nature means developers can create quantum resistant addresses and other upgrades to deal with future risks. So while quantum attacks are theoretically possible they are not immediate worry and Bitcoin ability to evolve makes its future secure.

Quantum attack is still far away, from what I've heard most of quantum computer still have high error rate and still impractical.

I will only be concerned when error rate is already low but a precaution is definitely needed, as of now I just think that those threat about quantum computing is still overblown.

[Alpen]

Why is BlackRock so concerned about Bitcoin's code, but not at all worried about the money sitting in their bank accounts? Both BTC private keys and fiat account access are protected by the same class of cryptographic algorithms.

If I had a quantum computer, I’d start by cracking bank accounts — simply because that’s where the bigger money is.

[mindrust]

Good old quantum computers FUD. Already debunked many times before. Blackrock makes it like they just discovered something new. No, the idea has been around for nearly a decade. More importantly, if quantum computing cracks SHA256 which is the cryptography algorithm bitcoin uses, every bank account will be in danger too. I don’t see blackrock releasing fud on their own products which got me thinking, are they doing this intentionally? Of course they do. And the reason is simple. They want to buy more before the rocket ship takes off.

[GreatArkansas]

Why is BlackRock so concerned about Bitcoin's code, but not at all worried about the money sitting in their bank accounts? Both BTC private keys and fiat account access are protected by the same class of cryptographic algorithms.

If I had a quantum computer, I’d start by cracking bank accounts — simply because that’s where the bigger money is.

For me, it's because any compromised private keys immediately result in irreversible loss, unlike bank accounts that have institutional safeguards like fraud detection and legal recourse.
So for sure, if you are a criminal, maybe you may have a high chance of not getting caught using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and at the same time having difficulty to success too.

[OcTradism]

For me, it's because any compromised private keys immediately result in irreversible loss, unlike bank accounts that have institutional safeguards like fraud detection and legal recourse.
So for sure, if you are a criminal, maybe you may have a high chance of not getting caught using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and at the same time having difficulty to success too.

Bitcoin blockchain is irreversible as are Bitcoin transactions, then any loss in bitcoin is forever loss and can not be recovered without any legal case and arrest on the criminal behind it that usually does not happen for most of victims.

Banks from central banks to commercial banks and bank transfers to bank accounts sound like safer but this safety comes after you already put your fund to banks and trust them. While you sacrifice your fund safety at the very first step, later steps are no longer too much important because you can firstly lose your money to banks, governments before risk of loss to criminals.

[nemesis_incarnate]

Why is BlackRock so concerned about Bitcoin's code, but not at all worried about the money sitting in their bank accounts? Both BTC private keys and fiat account access are protected by the same class of cryptographic algorithms.

If I had a quantum computer, I’d start by cracking bank accounts — simply because that’s where the bigger money is.

For me, it's because any compromised private keys immediately result in irreversible loss, unlike bank accounts that have institutional safeguards like fraud detection and legal recourse.
So for sure, if you are a criminal, maybe you may have a high chance of not getting caught using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and at the same time having difficulty to success too.

Maybe you are right, but still - I do think first targets would be something bigger than BTC, and what's bigger than said amounts in the banks, even if they are protected, such groups (hackers, etc.) are already hiding themselves good enough to continue to do what they do..

[suzanne5223]

It's publicly known that ECDSA/secp256k1 cryptography used by Bitcoin isn't secure against Bitcoin. So i feel either BlackRock or news media decide to perform fearmonger for reason i don't know. Frankly, i would

There's a typo here "cryptography used by Bitcoin isn't secure against Bitcoin "
Yes, the purpose of their statement was to cause FUD which is always their instrucment of accumulating the dip because this is something that have been discussed before they even think of accumulating Bitcoin.

This is a funny thread.  If it can break bitcoins encryption, it will have already long taken control of all the nukes on the planet, all the biolabs, everyone's bank accounts, etc.

In other words, we won't even notice.

FYI, Bitcoin doesn't use encryption cryptography wheres Bitcoin actually use signature and hash cryptography instead.

That's correct. However, before we see the quantum computer that will impact cryptography through the draining of all utxo with known public keys, it will be at least 50-100 years from now, and if the computer is developed, Bitcoin is the least of the ecosystems that will be affected because the military, institutional banks, etc, are not left out.
Meanwhile, I believe that won't be the case since technology are advancing everyday.

[Lucius]

Everyone is afraid of quantum computers, but apparently very few people realize that it will be a long time before such computers are powerful enough to compromise the cryptography that protects not only BTC but everything else in digital form. I've never liked them and companies like them, especially when it's an open secret that they're there for profit and don't care 1% about BTC.

What's the next news? BR propose a BTC hard fork that will be resistant to quantum computers?

If they (BR) had truly concerned about this, they would have ignored Bitcoin rather than invested their money in it and other resources for Bitcoin Spot ETF application and operations with many related products and issues later.

They know that quantum computers are threats in future (but probably not near future) so they only wanted to create fud that, in their hope, can trigger market crash. So they can take advantage of panic in the crowd and consequent market crash for buying bitcoin at cheaper price.

Why ignore something that could bring big profits? As far as I remember, they have been approved for over 400 ETFs so far, so it's obvious that they will try to make money on anything, and BTC is a real money factory for them for now. I don't really think they want to bring down the price this way, they just need to say something, even if it's completely pointless at this point.

Frankly, if they truly worried about it, they would silently make their exit from Bitcoin market to maximize total capital they can get back.
In reality, they did oppositely than all above things, so it's not their true concern at all.

Maybe it looked like I was joking about the hard fork, but when the spot BTC ETF was approved, information came out in which they made a statement about the hard fork - and if my memory serves me well, they wrote something like "in the case of a hard fork, BR will not necessarily follow the chain that the majority (crypto community) will follow", which implies that they will support what is in their interest - and when we add to that that they bought majority shares in the biggest BTC mining companies, things don't look very good for BTC.

[Die_empty]

Good old quantum computers FUD. Already debunked many times before. Blackrock makes it like they just discovered something new. No, the idea has been around for nearly a decade. More importantly, if quantum computing cracks SHA256 which is the cryptography algorithm bitcoin uses, every bank account will be in danger too. I don’t see blackrock releasing fud on their own products which got me thinking, are they doing this intentionally? Of course they do. And the reason is simple. They want to buy more before the rocket ship takes off.

That is why membership of a forum like this could help one in overcoming FUD. Blackrock knows that these threats are not currently a problem to the Bitcoin system but they just want to promote FuD or inform investors about a potential risk. The market didn't react massively to this FUD because many people are aware that Quantum computers pose no immediate harm.  I am also glad to know that Bitcoin developers are already aware of this threat and will definitely work hard to curtail this threat. Anyways, hands have dumped cheap coins for whales to accumulate more.

[ABCbits]

It's publicly known that ECDSA/secp256k1 cryptography used by Bitcoin isn't secure against Bitcoin. So i feel either BlackRock or news media decide to perform fearmonger for reason i don't know. Frankly, i would

There's a typo here "cryptography used by Bitcoin isn't secure against Bitcoin "

I've fixed it. Thanks for mentioning it.

Why is BlackRock so concerned about Bitcoin's code, but not at all worried about the money sitting in their bank accounts? Both BTC private keys and fiat account access are protected by the same class of cryptographic algorithms.

If I had a quantum computer, I’d start by cracking bank accounts — simply because that’s where the bigger money is.

1. How do you know bank actually use ECDSA/secp256k1 that used by Bitcoin?
2. Unlike Bitcoin, bank theoretically can reverse the transaction and freeze involved bank account.

[Abiky]

Good old quantum computers FUD. Already debunked many times before. Blackrock makes it like they just discovered something new. No, the idea has been around for nearly a decade. More importantly, if quantum computing cracks SHA256 which is the cryptography algorithm bitcoin uses, every bank account will be in danger too. I don’t see blackrock releasing fud on their own products which got me thinking, are they doing this intentionally? Of course they do. And the reason is simple. They want to buy more before the rocket ship takes off.

Let's not forget that government systems also rely on SHA-256 encryption. They will be affected if QCs manage to successfully crack Bitcoin. Before QCs ever become a threat, Bitcoin Core developers will already have a solution implemented. BTC is much safer than banks, so why the worry?

Like I've said, BlackRock is only spreading FUD with the hopes of seeing BTC drop in market prices. Then, they will buy it "cheap" to resell once prices go all the way to the moon. We cannot underestimate the power of "Wall Street". So long as these giants don't buy up all of the BTC, there should be nothing to worry about.

[franky1]

if people do not want to be situationally aware(so they know what to look out for should worse case happens).. usually the worse case does happen and people act surprised and upset after the fact
EG most people are not situationally aware that core is trying to depreciate the utility of legacy keys..

if people want to remain complacent and think bitcoin is utopia, they become complacent to not review code, become complacent to just blind trust core dev decisions which affect bitcoin(which affect everyone)

the whole point of bitcoin is that it should be decentralised and also peer reviewed independently and developed/upgraded independently via the masses. if people just want to dismiss the issues. the issues can get worse

i am a bitcoin maximalist. i adore and have a good hoard of coin for well over a decade.. and yet im a realist to know the risks, and i ensure i highlight the risks so that it is no surprise when or if things happen
(mentioning in 2016 (pre-segwit) how segwit will cause bloated unvalidated junk to be on the blockchain.. fastforward 2023.. 'ordinals' crap proved it)

blackrock are the same they are not naive to the risks, and also they have to legally make statements of risks for their own customers risk mitigation/management/liability stuff. they cant just do the fluffy cloud utopian promotion when they have legal obligations

people should not just dream of the fluffy cloud utopian dreams but keep their feet in reality and try to be part of mitigating the risks that can affect bitcoin, or atleast be aware of the risks so they can react to changes before they become a negative effect on bitcoin.

[Alpen]

1. How do you know bank actually use ECDSA/secp256k1 that used by Bitcoin?
2. Unlike Bitcoin, bank theoretically can reverse the transaction and freeze involved bank account.

1. Banks use RSA or Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), which, like ECDSA, are vulnerable to Shor’s quantum algorithm. Hackers could intercept traffic (MITM attacks) and decrypt it using quantum-powered TLS attacks, or gain access to data by hacking servers that rely on vulnerable keys.

2. While banks can freeze transfers, they can only do so before the funds reach the recipient’s account. Handling a return on an international transfer, especially to an offshore bank, can be even more complicated.

For me, it's because any compromised private keys immediately result in irreversible loss, unlike bank accounts that have institutional safeguards like fraud detection and legal recourse.
So for sure, if you are a criminal, maybe you may have a high chance of not getting caught using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and at the same time having difficulty to success too.

Then why is it that most illicit funds are still laundered through fiat rather than cryptocurrencies? Why do North Korean hackers manage to easily cash out their stolen crypto through fiat channels?

[NotATether]

I mean, they're not wrong. But according to the Bitcoin-dev mailing list, there are already discussions about a new quantum-resistant address type.

I do not think that SHA256d blocks are going to be broken by quantum computers, but in case it ever becomes a threat that people can suddenly pre-mine 100,000s of blocks, then I would see a soft fork in the style of Segwit on the table.

[Sonia_123]

Bitcoin ETF Inflows Approach $1 Billion This Week, BlackRock’s IBIT Dominates
https://coingape.com/bitcoin-etf-inflows-approach-1-billion-this-week-blackrock-ibit-dominates/
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) has seen more than $900 million in inflows this week while challenging the Gold ETF inflows.
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF assets under management (AUM) have surged to $73 billion despite Bitcoin's price decline.
IBIT is increasingly challenging traditional market leaders like Gold ETFs.
Bloomberg analyst predicts Bitcoin ETF AUM could eventually triple that of Gold ETFs, surpassing $1 trillion.
Inflows into spot Bitcoin ETF have reached closer to $1 billion in the first four trading days this week, with BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)  dominating most of the flows. This shows a strong pick-up in BTC institutional interest, despite the BTC price being on a falling trajectory this week. Amid continuous inflows, the AUM for IBIT has now crossed $73 billion.

[TastyChillySauce00]

Let's not forget that government systems also rely on SHA-256 encryption. They will be affected if QCs manage to successfully crack Bitcoin. Before QCs ever become a threat, Bitcoin Core developers will already have a solution implemented. BTC is much safer than banks, so why the worry?

Like I've said, BlackRock is only spreading FUD with the hopes of seeing BTC drop in market prices. Then, they will buy it "cheap" to resell once prices go all the way to the moon. We cannot underestimate the power of "Wall Street". So long as these giants don't buy up all of the BTC, there should be nothing to worry about.

This risk assessment is kind of obligatory to be disclosed to their customer so it's not really a FUD just acknowledgement of the risk.
I'm sure quantum computer affect other, not only bitcoin, if they were to risk assess other tech company that rely on encryption all of them will be flawed when QC is functional.

[Abiky]

This risk assessment is kind of obligatory to be disclosed to their customer so it's not really a FUD just acknowledgement of the risk.
I'm sure quantum computer affect other, not only bitcoin, if they were to risk assess other tech company that rely on encryption all of them will be flawed when QC is functional.

Maybe you're right. But why make it public, though? Can't they just announce it to their customers only?

Anyways, I've been doing some digging and found out the Chinese have already broken through the RSA encryption used by banks. More info on that here: https://www.livescience.com/technology/computing/chinese-scientists-claim-they-broke-rsa-encryption-with-a-quantum-computer-but-theres-a-catch

So that means if China used QC to break through the RSA encryption algorithm, they can also target ECDSA used by Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Developers better act fast before it's too late. The initial proposal of hard forking Bitcoin to create new "Quantum-resistant addresses" would be met with opposition from the community. Especially when it will leave existing cold storage wallets and loaded physical collectibles in the dust. Integrating Lamport Signatures or any other QC-resistant algorithm would be the way to go. But that's just my opinion.

Ultimately, the community will decide the fate of Bitcoin. Not BlackRock, nor any other big, centralized entity. Perhaps, BTC will survive a QC attack. But I can't say the same about altcoins. We'll see what happens in the long run.