Trump’s Quantum push brings Crypto’s security deadline closer

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders at the White House on June 22, flanked by the presidents of Google and IBM. The two executive orders cement what the administration is calling the most ambitious quantum technology agenda in U.S. history. 

One executive order pushes to deliver a scientifically relevant quantum computer by 2028. The second one moves the federal post-quantum cryptography deadline from 2035 to December 2031.

The White House posted the signing on X, framing it as a landmark step in the global race against China. 

Michael Kratsios expounds on the executive orders

Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, laid out the agenda on X shortly after the announcement. According to Kratsios, the Department of Energy will build the first quantum computer powerful enough for scientific discovery by 2028. He also mentioned that the federal agencies will deploy quantum sensors and networks within five years, and the FBI will lead a new effort to shield quantum research and intellectual property from foreign espionage. 

The first, Executive Order 14411 titled “Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation,” is an investment and development directive. The EO establishes the Quantum Computer for Application Development and Discovery Science initiative. It also tasks Commerce with expanding federal investment in private quantum firms following the $2 billion in equity stakes announced in May. Finally, the Executive Order also establishes five-year deployment plans for sensing and networking technologies.

The second, Executive Order 14409 titled “Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks,” is where the crypto industry’s attention should be concentrated. It accelerates the federal government’s migration to post-quantum cryptography by four years. The EO also moves the deadline from 2035 to December 2031, and directs NIST to complete a pilot migration of federal systems by December 2027. 

As per the Executive Orders, agency heads have 30 days to designate a post-quantum cryptography migration lead. Federal contractors also face new procurement rules requiring the use of NIST-standard post-quantum algorithms by the end of 2030.

Bitcoin and Ethereum brace for the quantum era

Bitcoin and most major cryptocurrencies rely on elliptic curve cryptography to prove wallet ownership and authorize transactions. Analysts argue that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer running Shor’s algorithm could, in principle, derive a private key from a public key already visible on-chain. 

Coinbase’s Independent Advisory Board on Quantum Computing and Blockchain warned earlier this month that approximately 7 million BTC sit in addresses that are already exposed. The board included the Satoshi-era wallets, where public keys are visible. They also flagged currently active cold wallets run by exchanges as part of the addresses already exposed. 

Google has set its own internal deadline of 2029 to adopt post-quantum cryptography. Similarly, the federal government just moved its own target to 2031 following President Trump’s executive orders. 

As a security measure, Bitcoin developers have already proposed BIP-360 and BIP-361. The first introduces quantum-resistant Bitcoin addresses, while the second would eventually freeze coins held in vulnerable legacy addresses if their owners fail to migrate. 

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