What happens when quantum computers stop being theory and start actively breaking the cryptography that runs Bitcoin and public blockchains?

In this episode of The Quantum Podcast, Christopher Smith (founder of Quantus Network), co-host Joe Mattia, and returning guest Jangle dive deep into "Q-Day" the moment quantum hardware can steal coins, fake signatures, and rewrite the trust assumptions of the entire crypto ecosystem. They unpack why timelines are compressing, how academic skeptics like Scott Aaronson and major voices like Vitalik are revising their estimates, and why Bitcoin may be in the most fragile position of all.

They walk through the three enormous coordination problems the industry must solve: convincing builders and leaders to care, reaching social consensus on which post-quantum standards to adopt, and then actually migrating billions in value, including Satoshi's coins, centralized exchange cold wallets, and DeFi protocols before attackers do. Along the way they explore HD wallets, lattice cryptography, Falcon vs Dilithium, quantum game theory between nation-states, and how stablecoins, ETFs, and Wall Street custody change who really decides what "real Bitcoin" is.

The conversation then turns to Quantus: why starting from a fresh, quantum-secure, ZK-friendly L1 solves problems legacy chains can't, and how native reversible transactions can eliminate blind signing horror stories, Bybit-style hacks, and endless test transactions. From escrow-less real-estate deals to proof-of-funds flows, Chris, Joe, and Jangle sketch a future where quantum-secure money and humane UX actually coexist, if the industry is willing to move before the asteroid hits.

Follow the Guests

Jangle
X – https://x.com/defijangle

Christopher Smith
https://x.com/YuviLightman

Joe Mattia
https://x.com/JoeMattia

Quantus Network
https://www.quantus.com/
https://t.me/quantusnetwork
https://linktr.ee/quantusnetwork

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 — Q-Day, compressed timelines & the three milestones of migration
02:00 — Scott Aaronson, shifting quantum timelines & 2028 key-cracking fears
04:00 — Why Bitcoin may be in the worst position of all
06:00 — HD wallets, seed phrases & how post-quantum breaks old assumptions
08:00 — Lattice cryptography, Falcon vs Dilithium & choosing a standard
10:00 — Expected value, tail risk & responsible leadership in crypto
12:00 — Satoshi's coins, rich lists & mega-targets like Binance cold wallets
14:00 — Nation-states, first-mover advantage & brutal quantum game theory
16:00 — Quantum attacks, stablecoins & ETF custodians under stress
18:00 — BlackRock, Bitcoin ETFs & who really chooses the "real" fork
20:00 — Stablecoin issuers, protocol capture & fork-choice power
22:00 — BIP-444, illegal content & retroactive editing of the chain
24:00 — Fresh L1s & why not going quantum-secure in 2025 is madness
26:00 — Designing Quantus: quantum-secure, ZK-friendly from genesis
28:00 — Reversible transactions as the missing primitive in blockchains
30:00 — Proof-of-funds, good-faith deposits & escrowless large deals
32:00 — Blind signing, multisigs & supply-chain attacks like the Bybit hack
34:00 — Clear-signing on Quantus & radically shrinking the attack surface
36:00 — Building quantum-secure, reversible stablecoins for the dollar era
38:00 — Final reflections: Q-Day as crypto's asteroid & why migration starts now