Nic Carter calls on Bitcoin devs to accelerate quantum-resistant upgrade plans

Crypto investor Nic Carter is urging Bitcoin developers to prepare for quantum-resistant cryptography, warning that elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) may be broken by future quantum computers. In a thread on X, the Castle Island Ventures co-founder pressed for a formal plan and near-term upgrades.

He argued that elliptic curve cryptography is nearing the end of its useful life and could be broken within three to ten years. To prepare, he urged developers to add “cryptographic mutability” so networks can rotate signature schemes over time. In his view, the current hard-coded approach has to change.

Carter pointed to Ethereum, which he said has organized a 2029 post-quantum roadmap and formed a security team to lead the work. In late February, co-founder Vitalik Buterin outlined areas to refactor for quantum readiness, including validator signatures, data storage, accounts, and proofs, and proposed staged testing and deployment.

He contrasted that with Bitcoin Core’s handling of quantum proposals, highlighting BIP-360, which sketches migration paths for keys and addresses. In his view, the proposal has not received enough attention. In February, BIP-360 co-author Ethan Heilman countered that contributors are engaging and that the draft has drawn more comments than any other Bitcoin Improvement Proposal.

ECC is the system that lets users generate a public address from a private key in a way that is easy to verify but hard to reverse. If a quantum-capable machine can derive private keys from exposed public keys, funds or identities could be at risk unless networks adopt new signature algorithms.

Outside crypto, Google set a 2029 deadline to complete its migration to post-quantum cryptography across products and infrastructure, warning that quantum computers will “pose a significant threat” to current standards, “specifically to encryption and digital signatures.”

Earlier this month, Galaxy Digital said quantum risk to Bitcoin is real, but for now, the threat is limited mainly to wallets whose public keys are already exposed on-chain. The report argues that most users remain relatively safe today, while developers are actively testing post-quantum fixes and preparing possible upgrade paths for the network.

A broad migration is difficult for blockchains because user funds are tied to address formats and signature schemes embedded in wallets, scripts, and payment channels. Carter urged designs that let networks rotate cryptography without breaking existing applications and called for an “entire reimagining” of upgrade paths.

Ethereum developers have discussed testing quantum-resistant signatures, planning contract upgrades that preserve balances and permissions, and adding fallback mechanisms if interim schemes prove weak. Buterin has argued the network will need to change how validators sign blocks and how accounts authenticate transactions to avoid exposing keys.

Within the Bitcoin community, views differ on scope and timing. Some developers warn that wide cryptographic changes could affect stability and governance, while others favor preparing opt-in tools, address formats, and wallet guidance so users can rotate keys ahead of any threat.

Carter linked prioritization to market outcomes. “ETH people have already figured this out,” he wrote, adding that the ETH-to-BTC exchange rate could “reflect the divergence in prioritization.”