Today in crypto: Jameson Lopp says Bitcoin migration to post-quantum could ‘easily’ take 10 years, US lawmakers are proposing a tax exemption for stablecoin payments of up to $200. Meanwhile, crypto market participants aren’t fearful enough yet to call a market bottom.
Jameson Lopp says Bitcoin migration to post-quantum could ‘easily’ take 10 years
The Bitcoin protocol’s shift to post-quantum security standards could “easily” take up to 10 years to complete, according to Jameson Lopp, a Bitcoin Core developer and co-founder of crypto custody solutions company Casa.
Lopp weighed in on the social media debate that intensified after venture capitalist Nic Carter sounded the alarm on Bitcoin’s lack of a quantum security plan.
Carter argued that the Bitcoin community needs to shift to post-quantum standards as soon as possible. Lopp responded:
“No, quantum computers won’t break Bitcoin in the near future. We’ll keep observing their evolution. Yet, making thoughtful changes to the protocol and an unprecedented migration of funds could easily take 5 to 10 years.”
The ongoing debate highlights the schism in the crypto community, with many Bitcoin maximalists saying that the threat of quantum computers to the Bitcoin protocol and encryption is still decades away.
Still, others, including software developers and venture capitalists, say that quantum supremacy is only five years away.
US lawmakers propose tax break for small stablecoin payments, staking rewards
US lawmakers have introduced a discussion draft that would ease the tax burden on everyday crypto users by exempting small stablecoin transactions from capital gains taxes and offering a new deferral option for staking and mining rewards.
The proposal, introduced by Representatives Max Miller of Ohio and Steven Horsford of Nevada, seeks to amend the Internal Revenue Code to reflect the growing use of digital assets in payments. The draft is set “to eliminate low-value gain recognition arising from routine consumer payment use of regulated payment stablecoins,” per the draft.
Under the draft, users would not be required to recognize gains or losses on stablecoin transactions of up to $200, provided the asset is issued by a permitted issuer under the GENIUS Act, pegged to the US dollar and maintains a tight trading range around $1.
The bill includes safeguards to prevent abuse. The exemption would not apply if a stablecoin trades outside a narrow price band, and brokers or dealers would be excluded from the benefit. Treasury would also retain authority to issue anti-abuse rules and reporting requirements.
Crypto market ‘isn’t scared enough’ to call a bottom yet: Santiment
Crypto traders have not yet shown enough fear on social media to confirm a market bottom, according to a crypto analyst who suggested Bitcoin could still slide to around $75,000.
“It looks very tempting to come even closer to it,” crypto market sentiment platform Santiment founder, Maksim Balashevich, said on a video published to YouTube on Friday.
A move to that level would represent an approximate 14.77% drop from Bitcoin’s current price of $88,350, according to CoinMarketCap.
Balashevich explained that his hesitation comes from observing significant optimism online that the downtrend will reverse in the near term, which he said is not usually the case when a true market bottom is forming.