CNBC's Jim Cramer is selling his Bitcoin, citing fears that future quantum computers could break the cryptocurrency's encryption. Alphabet's quantum research unit has suggested as much as one-third of all Bitcoin could eventually be at risk, but a group of major crypto firms has already pledged funding to upgrade Bitcoin's defenses.
Jim Cramer, host of CNBC's Mad Money, is selling his Bitcoin holdings over the so-called "quantum threat" rather than to rotate into artificial intelligence stocks. He worries that sufficiently powerful quantum computers will soon crack Bitcoin's cryptography, a risk that could produce hundreds of billions of dollars in losses for crypto investors.
Alphabet's warning fuels the concern
Today's computers have no realistic chance of breaking Bitcoin's encryption, but the risk from future machines is what worries Cramer. Earlier this year, Alphabet's quantum computing research unit suggested that as much as one-third of all Bitcoin in the world might be at risk, and that the threat could materialize within just a few years rather than remaining a distant possibility.
Cramer sold his position after IBM CEO Arvind Krishna appeared on Mad Money to discuss quantum computers and the risk they pose. However, some investors believe the quantum threat is still decades away.
Bitcoin's cryptography gets reinforcements
The blockchain developer community is already working to counter the risk. In July, a consortium of more than a dozen firms, led by Coinbase Global and Strategy, announced efforts to boost Bitcoin's cryptography against future quantum attacks. All told, more than $15 million has been pledged to protect the Bitcoin network for future generations of investors.
Motley Fool columnist Dominic Basulto argues that the scale of funding suggests current fears about quantum computing have been hyped to an unrealistic level, and that even a threat several years away gives developers time to update Bitcoin's cryptography for the quantum era.
Source: Motley Fool
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