PANews reported on April 22 that, according to CoinDesk, a report commissioned by Coinbase and authored by an independent advisory committee warns that the threat of quantum computing to the crypto industry is looming, and the industry needs to start preparing now. The report, authored by cryptographers and academics including Dan Boneh of Stanford University, Justin Drake of the Ethereum Foundation, and Sreeram Kannan of Eigen Labs, concludes that while current blockchains remain secure, the possibility of "fault-tolerant quantum computers" capable of breaking widely encrypted systems is increasingly looming.

The report points out that post-quantum cryptography already exists and is being standardized by NIST, but replacing existing signature schemes presents significant challenges: post-quantum digital signatures are tens to hundreds of times larger than current signatures, potentially leading to a 38-fold increase in block size and usability issues such as the migration of millions of wallets and handling of dormant funds. The report recommends flexible strategies such as hybrid systems to achieve rapid upgrades while maintaining current security and performance. NIST recommends migrating to quantum-resistant cryptography by 2035, a timeline the report considers potentially optimistic.