Bitcoin quantum threat: Stacks founder Muneeb Ali says BTC needs a credible roadmap by 2028

30 Oct 2026

30 Oct 2026, 18:44 UTC+01:00

Bitcoin TradeReviewed News Desk

The quantum computing debate around Bitcoin is turning from a far-off technical worry into a near-term economic question. Muneeb Ali, founder of the Bitcoin layer-2 project Stacks, believes quantum risk is already discouraging some institutional investment, even as US spot Bitcoin ETFs hold more than $104 billion in net assets, according to BitBo data cited by Cointelegraph.

Why 2028 matters for Bitcoin

Speaking on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction podcast, Ali said Bitcoin needs a credible roadmap to become quantum-resistant, with meaningful progress required by 2028. He pointed to 2030 as the target for completing the transition, based on guidance from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, and warned that advances in artificial intelligence could pull that deadline forward.

The problem is time. Even if developers agree on a fix, Bitcoin’s history of slow and contentious upgrades means implementation could take years, and holders would then need more time to move coins to quantum-resistant addresses. Ali argued that uncertainty alone can hurt confidence among institutions that buy BTC as a hedge against currency debasement, and that a quantum breakthrough able to compromise Bitcoin would hit the wider crypto market too. Some in the industry dispute how urgent the threat really is.

Ripple gets its US trust bank

Ripple has received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to set up a national trust bank, after conditional approval in December 2025. Ripple National Trust Bank will run under federal supervision, manage reserves backing the RLUSD stablecoin, act as collateral trustee for tokenholders and provide digital asset custody. RLUSD itself stays issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company under New York DFS oversight. CEO Brad Garlinghouse said “crypto and banks work better together.” Circle got similar final approval in July, while Coinbase, Crypto.com and Bridge remain at the conditional stage. National trust banks generally cannot take deposits or make loans and carry no FDIC coverage.

USDC overtakes USDT against the euro

A Kaiko report shows USDC now makes up 56% of euro-denominated stablecoin trading, up from 10% in January 2024, after major exchanges restricted USDT for European Economic Area users under MiCA. USDC’s euro order books are about 40% deeper than USDT’s, although USDT’s global supply is still roughly 2.5 times larger.

What it means for traders

• Quantum risk is unlikely to move BTC day to day, but headlines around upgrade proposals can add volatility and feed long-term institutional sentiment.
• EU traders should expect USDC and euro pairs to keep gaining liquidity, so check which stablecoin pairs your exchange actually offers in your country.
• Compare fees, licences and stablecoin pairs in our crypto exchange comparison, or read our reviews of BingX (our number 1) and OKX (number 2).

This is not financial advice.

Sources

• Cointelegraph: Crypto Biz: Bitcoin’s quantum threat is becoming an economic problem

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Related reviews

• Bingx review
• Okx review

Sources

• Cointelegraph: Crypto Biz: Bitcoin’s quantum threat is becoming an economic problem

News is for information only and is not financial advice. More crypto news