Quantum’s first crypto victim may not know they’ve been hacked

The next blow to the crypto market could trigger without an identifiable perpetrator and no apparent compromise. Christopher Smith, the CEO and co-founder of blockchain firm Quantus Network, reportedly suggested that a signal that a quantum computer has compromised the crypto security used in major blockchains may be a succession of wallet thefts that cannot be explained. The market may discover what happened only when funds from supposedly secured wallets start to move.

Therefore, while quantum risk has implications for individual projects, it is actually a market-wide phenomenon. Quantus estimates that 99.96% of the crypto market, or about $2.3 trillion in digital assets, remains vulnerable to a sufficiently powerful quantum computer. According to its State of Quantum Report published in May 2026, the timeline for preparations for the industry is rapidly approaching late this decade and early 2030s.

Additionally, migration.fail indicates major networks, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, as still dependent on signatures that are vulnerable to quantum attacks. In its report in July, Reuters revealed that none of the 20 biggest blockchains have adopted a post-quantum signature algorithm.

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