Jefferies’ Wood Ditches Bitcoin, Warning Quantum Computing Could Break It

Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, has removed Bitcoin from his model portfolio after four years, citing mounting fears that quantum computing could undermine the cryptocurrency’s cryptographic security.

According to Bloomberg, Wood eliminated a 10% Bitcoin allocation and replaced it with equal parts physical gold and gold-mining stocks, warning that advances in quantum technology threaten Bitcoin’s viability as a long-term store of value.

The strategist’s exit reflects growing mainstream concern over quantum threats, with Wood stating in his “Greed & Fear” newsletter that the Bitcoin community increasingly believes quantum computing “could only be a few years away rather than a decade or more.“

He warned that any breach of Bitcoin’s cryptographic foundation “is potentially existential as it undermines the concept of Bitcoin as a store of value and therefore as a digital alternative to gold.“

The once-distant threat of quantum computing has prompted one of the most closely followed market strategists to walk away from Bitcoin https://t.co/JtVvG2PlBg

— Bloomberg (@business) January 16, 2026

Quantum Threat Splits Bitcoin Community

The debate over quantum risk has intensified sharply in recent months, dividing prominent figures across the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Nic Carter, a partner at Castle Island Ventures, accused influential Bitcoin developers of being “in denial” about quantum computing threats, citing hundreds of millions of dollars in capital flowing into quantum computing development and U.S. government plans to deprecate classical cryptography by 2030.

Blockstream CEO Adam Back pushed back against Carter’s warnings, arguing that developers are quietly preparing quantum defenses without creating market panic.

“You make uninformed noise and try to move the market or something. You’re not helping,” Back wrote in a December post criticizing Carter’s public statements.

⚠️ @Blockstream CEO @adam3us has publicly pushed back against claims that Bitcoin faces an imminent threat from quantum computing.#Bitcoin #Quantumhttps://t.co/8Xsi3zt95n

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) December 20, 2025

Despite the disagreement, Carter maintained his concerns are justified, noting that “companies are raising $100s of m to build QCs that can crack ECC” while “bitcoins mere existence is accelerating QC development.“

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko added urgency to the discussion at the All-In Summit 2025, warning there’s a 50% chance of a quantum breakthrough within five years.

“Bitcoin should migrate to quantum-resistant signature schemes as AI acceleration makes the timeline from research to implementation astounding,” Yakovenko stated.

One-Third of Bitcoin Supply Potentially Vulnerable

Security researchers estimate that approximately 30% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply is subject to quantum exposure under certain conditions.

David Duong, Global Head of Investment Research at Coinbase, calculated that roughly 6.51 million BTC sits in address types more vulnerable to long-range quantum attacks, including legacy Pay-to-Public-Key outputs and some Taproot constructions where public keys are already visible on-chain.

In an interview with Cryptonews last year, David Carvalho, CEO of Naoris Protocol and a former ethical hacker, warned that “any Bitcoin in lost wallets, including Satoshi (if not alive), will be hacked and put back in circulation” once sufficiently powerful quantum computers emerge.

Carvalho described “Q-Day” as arriving within three to five years, cautioning that “about 30% of all the BTC in circulation is sitting in addresses that contain public keys directly. The moment a powerful quantum rig is running, those coins are fair game.“

Major institutions have begun acknowledging the threat, with BlackRock flagging quantum risks in its iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF prospectus and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino warning about exposure to inactive wallets.

🚀 @Tether_to CEO @paoloardoino has warned that quantum computing could eventually pose a threat to inactive Bitcoin wallets.#Bitcoin #Quantumhttps://t.co/u8DCYrTjYw

— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) February 9, 2025

While Ardoino reassured that “quantum computing is still very far from any meaningful risk of breaking Bitcoin cryptography,” he acknowledged that active wallet holders will need to migrate funds to quantum-resistant addresses once such protections become available.

Price Resilience Tested Amid Growing Technical Concerns

Bitcoin continues trading near $97,000 despite debates over quantum security, supported by renewed ETF inflows and broader macro optimism.

Speaking with Cryptonews, Timot Lamarre, Director of Market Research at Bitcoin financial services firm Unchained, which secures over $10 billion in BTC, believes ETF holder behavior will signal whether the rally sustains under growing technical scrutiny.

“The market value to realized value (MVRV) for bitcoin ETF holders has held strong above 1.0. Falling below 1.0 could scare off some investors,” Lamarre stated.

He noted ETF holders demonstrated resilience throughout 2024 despite extended periods of negative returns, adding that “it is expected that rates will likely have to come down, benefitting bitcoin, given the fact that $9+ Trillion worth of debt from the pandemic era is rolling over in 2026 and the interest expense paid is projected to be over $1T as well.“

Wood’s shift back to gold after abandoning Bitcoin reflects his conviction that debates over quantum computing create conditions favoring traditional precious metals as “a historically tested hedge in an increasingly uncertain geopolitical world.“