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As Bitcoin surges above $120,000 and confidence in the crypto market builds, an invisible danger could be growing in the background. According to cybersecurity expert and former hacker David Carvalho, CEO of Naoris Protocol, the next big risk to Bitcoin and Ethereum isn’t regulatory pressure or market volatility — it’s quantum computing, and it may already be underway.
Carvalho believes the industry is unprepared for the potential damage that quantum computing could cause. And while many in the crypto space continue to dismiss it as a distant concern, he warns that the danger isn’t something that will arrive with loud alarms or sudden price crashes. Instead, it will creep in silently — and when the damage is noticed, it may already be too late.
A Silent Attack on Blockchain Security
The core of the problem lies in the cryptographic foundation of today’s blockchain networks. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and most other blockchains rely on cryptographic systems such as ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm) and SHA-256. These systems are secure against classical computing threats, but quantum computers could eventually crack them with ease.
“If you think your digital assets are safe today, think again,” Carvalho warns. “Attackers are already collecting encrypted blockchain data today with the plan to decrypt it later using quantum computing.”
This strategy, known as “harvest now, decrypt later,” involves bad actors stockpiling encrypted data with the expectation that quantum machines will eventually give them the tools to unlock it. And this isn’t just theory — security researchers have been raising alarms about this possibility for years.
The biggest concern isn’t just the computing power, but the intelligence behind it. Carvalho predicts that the most dangerous scenario will be the combination of quantum capabilities with artificial intelligence. This would allow for highly precise attacks that target wallets, validators, and governance layers across blockchain ecosystems — without triggering any alarms.
“It won’t be loud,” Carvalho says. “It’ll be silent and irreversible.”
Why the Industry Isn’t Moving Fast Enough
Despite growing awareness, the crypto industry’s adoption of quantum-resistant measures has been slow. Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 360, which aims to introduce quantum-safe key formats, has yet to see widespread implementation. Many developers and stakeholders consider the threat too distant or theoretical to warrant immediate action.
But Carvalho sees this as a dangerous assumption.
“Most projects still depend heavily on traditional digital infrastructure,” he explains. “Even if your blockchain protocol is decentralized, if your APIs, cloud servers, or mobile apps are centralized and insecure, it doesn’t matter.”
He points out that centralized elements of crypto platforms — such as API endpoints, validators running on cloud services, or mobile wallet apps — remain vulnerable, even if the underlying blockchain is secure. A quantum-empowered attacker wouldn’t need to break the entire chain; compromising key parts of the infrastructure would be enough to cause chaos.
Security Solutions Are in the Works, But Time Is Tight
While many in the industry have remained passive, some projects are actively building defense mechanisms. Naoris Protocol, led by Carvalho, is one of them. Inspired by national security-grade systems, Naoris is working on a decentralized cybersecurity network that aims to create trust across nodes and infrastructure, making it more difficult for attackers to exploit any single point of failure.
Other solutions being explored include lattice-based cryptography, hash-based signatures, and multivariate polynomial cryptographic systems. These fall under the umbrella of “post-quantum cryptography,” and they’re being tested for their viability in blockchain environments.
However, the pace of adoption is slow. Projects must not only test these solutions for security but also ensure they don’t degrade network performance or increase transaction costs. Transitioning Bitcoin or Ethereum to post-quantum systems would require a major consensus upgrade and could take years to fully implement.
The Coming Intersection of AI and Quantum
While the buzz around AI in crypto often focuses on trading bots or data analysis, Carvalho believes the intersection of AI with quantum computing could create tools far more dangerous.
AI could help quantum attackers scan vast amounts of network data, identify vulnerabilities in smart contracts or validator setups, and execute exploits that leave no trace. It could impersonate users, redirect transactions, or quietly alter governance votes. Once a compromise is successful, the consequences would ripple across the entire blockchain, undermining trust and stability.
This is particularly concerning in proof-of-stake networks, where control of validator nodes determines network consensus. A targeted attack that compromises a majority of stake-controlled validators could create a fork or allow double-spending — the very threat Bitcoin was designed to eliminate.
Why Now Is the Time to Act
Although fully functional, scalable quantum computers may still be years away, Carvalho believes the time to prepare is now.
“You don’t wait for the enemy to enter your home before you build the walls,” he says.
For now, most crypto users are focused on prices, new protocols, and scaling solutions. But behind the scenes, the risk of quantum threats is becoming more real with each passing year. Those building the infrastructure today have a responsibility to plan for tomorrow’s dangers.
Projects like Naoris are leading the charge, but if the rest of the industry fails to act, the damage might be irreversible — not just for one token or network, but for the very trust that underpins the entire crypto ecosystem.
