Bitcoin is not facing a threat that quantum computers can break through immediately, but the industry should start preparing from now, an argument has emerged.

On July 26, blockchain outlet U.Today reported that Coinbase Chief Executive Brian Armstrong (브라이언 암스트롱) disclosed the launch of the "Bitcoin Security Consortium" along with that position.

The group lists major industry participants including Coinbase, BlackRock, Fidelity Digital Assets, Block, Blockstream and Strategy. Its aim is to support the long-term security of the bitcoin network and build an industry cooperation system in case sufficiently powerful quantum computers become a reality.

Armstrong said on X, formerly Twitter, that "quantum computing will not pose an immediate threat to bitcoin." He added that "the cryptocurrency industry should start preparing now." He judged that the future transition process is a bigger task than the current risk.

Coinbase also presented its own response roadmap. The exchange said it is developing a quantum-resistant version of its key management system, "PQ-CoreKMS". An internal committee that reviewed responses to quantum technology had high confidence that fault-tolerant quantum computers could eventually be built, but effectively concluded the threat is not imminent.

Coinbase pointed to the real issue as a large-scale migration of a decentralised network. It said the key task is coordinating a secure migration on a blockchain connected to millions of users. Networks that operate on consensus like bitcoin do not complete a transition simply by preparing security technology. Broad consensus is needed, including migrating user addresses, changing signature systems and discussing protocol revisions.

For these reasons, Coinbase plans to hold joint working sessions from August with Bitcoin Core developers, cryptographers and researchers. The company said it will start discussions on migration strategies and provide engineering resources and funding for that purpose.

The background is also clear. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology has in recent years completed the selection and standardisation of the first quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms. Governments and technology companies have begun shifting core infrastructure to the new standards. This means quantum preparation is no longer confined to a stage of theoretical review.

Still, current quantum computers are far from the scale needed to break the elliptic curve cryptography used by bitcoin. Researchers are making progress in hardware reliability, error correction and logical qubits, but there is broad agreement that equipment capable of actually attacking bitcoin would require millions of high-quality physical qubits and a strong error-correction system. At the same time, warnings have emerged that it is difficult to predict when such systems will appear.

Within the bitcoin camp, options have been discussed such as introducing a quantum-resistant signature system in the future, encouraging users to move funds to upgraded addresses and pursuing protocol changes through Bitcoin Improvement Proposals. Any transition plan would also require broad consensus across the network. In this situation, the launch of the group is seen as a move to institutionalise preparations for a long-term transition rather than the imminence of a quantum threat.