PANews reported on November 17th, citing Cointelegraph, that Blockstream CEO and early Bitcoin advocate Adam Back stated that Bitcoin is unlikely to face a substantial threat from quantum computing for at least the next 20 to 40 years. He expressed this view in response to a user's question about the risks facing Bitcoin, adding that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has approved post-quantum cryptography standards, which Bitcoin could adopt "long before quantum computers capable of breaking cryptography are available."

The discussion began when a user posted a video of Canadian-American venture capitalist and entrepreneur Chamath Palihapitiya predicting that Bitcoin would face a quantum threat within two to five years. He pointed out that a quantum computer would need approximately 8,000 qubits to crack the SHA-256 encryption standard upon which Bitcoin relies.