Watch out Bitcoin devs. Google says post-quantum migration needs to happen by 2029.

Key Points:

• Google has set a 2029 deadline to migrate its authentication services to post-quantum cryptography, citing advances in quantum hardware and error correction that bring the quantum threat closer than previously thought.
• Bitcoin's cryptography, based on ECDSA, is vulnerable to quantum attacks using Shor's algorithm, which could allow attackers to derive private keys and spend bitcoins; however, a sufficiently powerful quantum computer is still years away.
• Ethereum has proactively prepared for the quantum threat with eight years of development, including dedicated teams and a detailed roadmap for post-quantum upgrades across multiple hard forks, while Bitcoin lacks a coordinated strategy or roadmap.
• Prominent Bitcoin advocates acknowledge the impending obsolescence of elliptic curve cryptography and urge urgent action, but Bitcoin's decentralized governance and culture of caution make rapid migration challenging.
• Some firms argue the immediate quantum threat to Bitcoin is overstated due to the distribution of vulnerable bitcoins, but consensus among experts and institutions like Google and the Ethereum Foundation is that quantum computing will eventually compromise current blockchain cryptography.