Two senior crypto security experts have raised the alarm. They say quantum computers could crack the math protecting Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) sooner than expected.
Recent breakthroughs and a public rediscovery of hidden Google research have moved the timeline closer.
Google Hid a Quantum Breakthrough, AI Rebuilt It and Made It Worse for Crypto
Justin Drake of the Ethereum Foundation and Charles Guillemet, chief technology officer at Ledger, both shared their thinking. Here are five takeaways crypto holders should not miss.
1. Google’s Quantum Attack Got 10x Faster
On March 31, 2026, Google Quantum AI showed a 10x faster way to crack the math protecting Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The new method requires fewer than 1,200 logical qubits to break the digital locks protecting wallets, addresses, and most online authentication.
2. Outsiders Rediscovered the Hidden Trick in 2 Months
Google did not publish the actual circuits. The hidden quantum research sat behind secrecy for weeks.
Two months later, French researcher André Schrottenloher independently cracked the main optimization.
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A public challenge then opened, and hobbyists beat Google’s original number by over 8% within hours.
3. A Zero-Knowledge Proof Sparked a Censorship Debate
Google released a zero-knowledge proof, a math trick that confirms something works without showing how.
Guillemet said the U.S. government blocked the full publication. Drake, a co-author of the paper, wrote that aspects of the surrounding context troubled him.
4. AI and Amateurs Drove the Speed-Up
The hidden proof had a side effect. Anyone could test a candidate attack against it and get instant feedback. Guillemet flagged the irony.
“The ZKP was designed to hide the attack. What it actually published is the reward function for rediscovering it,” Guillemet indicated, flagging the irony.
Hobbyists wired the verifier into automated AI searches, and current Q-Day timeline estimates may already be too generous.
5. Migration Timelines Are Behind the Curve
Drake now puts the chance of Q-Day arriving by 2032 at 50%, with 10% by 2030. He dismissed the U.S. government’s 2035 deadline outright.
“In plain language: with hindsight, that date is a joke and should be discounted entirely,” noted Drake.
Ethereum, Google, and Cloudflare are working toward a post-quantum migration deadline of 2029.
Drake leads work on Ethereum’s quantum-resistant plan, which would replace today’s cryptography with hash-based cryptography.
The Bigger Picture
Neither expert urged panic.
Guillemet warned that rushing into untested replacement cryptography could be worse than the threat itself.
The takeaway is not to act today, but to plan now. The gap between classified research and public knowledge keeps shrinking.
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