Adam Back Hits Back at VC’s Bitcoin Quantum Fears
Adam Back Criticizes Bitcoiner VC Over Quantum Computing Concerns
Blockstream CEO Adam Back has publicly rebuked Castle Island Ventures founding partner Nic Carter for spreading what he calls ‘uninformed noise’ regarding the potential dangers quantum computing poses to Bitcoin.
In a pointed X post, Back stated, “You make uninformed noise and try to move the market or something. You’re not helping,” responding to Carter’s announcement of Castle Island Ventures’ investment in Project Eleven. This startup is dedicated to developing safeguards for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets against emerging quantum computing threats.
Back emphasized that the Bitcoin community is far from ignoring the issue. Instead, they are actively engaged in research and development to create quantum-resistant protections, but prefer to conduct this work discreetly without public fanfare. Nevertheless, Carter pushed back against Back’s criticism, asserting that numerous Bitcoin developers remain in complete denial about the genuine risks quantum computing presents to the network’s security.
The investment by Castle Island Ventures in Project Eleven gained renewed attention recently within Bitcoin social circles, although Carter had initially revealed it back in a Substack article dated October 20. “I disclosed this in the first sentence of my main article on quantum. Can’t get more transparent than that,” Carter remarked.
Carter Reveals He Was ‘Quantum Pilled’
Carter explained his decision to invest stemmed from being deeply convinced by Project Eleven CEO Alex Pruden about the severity of quantum threats to blockchain technologies. “I became extremely concerned about quantum threats to blockchains. I put capital behind my convictions, always have,” he shared.
Anticipating backlash, Carter stressed his transparency regarding his financial interests: “I knew the bad faith criticisms would come, so I made absolutely sure to be crystal clear about my financial exposure here.”
Carter highlighted multiple factors underscoring the quantum risk to Bitcoin, such as governments actively preparing cryptographic infrastructures for a post-quantum era, the nature of Bitcoin serving as an attractive target for achieving quantum supremacy breakthroughs, and the surging investments flowing into quantum technology companies worldwide.
Carter is not alone among influential Bitcoin personalities in issuing public alerts about quantum computing’s potential impact on the cryptocurrency.
Some Experts Predict Threat in Just Two Years
Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards cautioned via X that quantum computing could realistically threaten Bitcoin’s integrity within two to nine years if the protocol fails to implement quantum-resistant cryptographic upgrades promptly.
On the other hand, not everyone shares this level of urgency. Multimillionaire entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary recently explained to Cointelegraph Magazine that deploying quantum computing to crack Bitcoin’s encryption would represent a inefficient application of the technology. He argued it holds far greater promise in fields like AI-enhanced medical research and drug discovery.
Back himself has noted that while preparing Bitcoin to be quantum-ready is beneficial, the actual threat remains distant—likely decades away—given the technology’s nascent stage and persistent research hurdles.
