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Algorand Jumps 50% After Google Paper Spotlights Quantum Threat to Bitcoin and Ethereum
Algorand has moved to the center of the crypto market's quantum security conversation after a Google Quantum AI research paper cited the network as a live deployment of post-quantum cryptography. The mention intensified focus on Bitcoin and Ethereum, where scale, legacy design choices, and governance realities could make a future shift to quantum-resistant systems slower and harder to coordinate.
Traders treated the paper as third-party validation of work Algorand has already been rolling out, helping lift its native token sharply over the past week. CryptoSlate data show ALGO up roughly 50% to about $0.12 at press time, rebounding less than a week after hitting an all-time low near $0.08.
Google's paper did not claim Algorand is fully quantum-safe end to end. The network's core consensus and standard transactions still depend on Ed25519, which would be vulnerable in a sufficiently capable quantum scenario. The distinction, though, is that Algorand has moved beyond theory in areas that matter for real-world deployment.
Algorand has implemented Falcon digital signatures for smart transactions and state proofs, the cryptographic attestations used to verify blockchain state across chains. Falcon verification is also available as a building primitive on the Algorand Virtual Machine, giving developers working tools rather than a long-dated roadmap. The network processed its first post-quantum-secured transaction in 2025, and it supports private-key rotation for accounts, a feature that does not remove the threat but can make future migrations easier to manage.
For Bitcoin, the paper underscores both a cryptography problem and a migration problem. It estimates that a quantum computer with fewer than 500,000 physical qubits could break the elliptic-curve cryptography used to secure Bitcoin wallets, far below earlier estimates in the millions. Google's Willow chip remains well short of that threshold, but the revised figure has renewed scrutiny of how quickly risk could materialize if progress accelerates.
The paper also points to a major legacy exposure: older Pay-to-Public-Key addresses that keep public keys visible on-chain. It estimates about 6.7 million BTC sit in such addresses, including coins long associated with Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. Any upgrade path is further complicated by Bitcoin's emphasis on backward compatibility and its cautious approach to base-layer changes, making coordination and governance as critical as the underlying math.
Ethereum's exposure is described as broader. After an Ethereum account sends a transaction, the public key tied to that account becomes permanently visible on-chain. The paper estimates that the top 1,000 Ethereum wallets, holding roughly 20.5 million ETH, could be exposed under a sufficiently advanced quantum attack. It also identifies at least 70 major contracts with administrator keys visible on-chain, which can control system-critical permissions such as stablecoin minting authority.
The paper argues the attack surface extends beyond wallets and admin keys. Ethereum's proof-of-stake validator set, major Layer 2 networks, and elements of its data-availability architecture rely on cryptographic components it describes as vulnerable. With roughly 37 million ETH staked and a large share of activity flowing through rollups and bridges, any serious post-quantum transition would need to reach users and validators as well as the broader application and scaling stack built on top of the base layer.
The story 'Algorand just jumped 50% after a Google flags quantum risk for Bitcoin and Ethereum' was originally published by CryptoSlate.