Utah Leads US Bitcoin Reserve Race as Quantum Threat Looms

Bitcoin's potential reserve plans in the U.S. have gained significant traction, with Utah leading the state-level race. The state's Bitcoin reserve bill has progressed to the second Senate reading, marking a crucial step towards its potential implementation. If approved, the bill would allow Utah to diversify its reserve assets while inheriting Bitcoin's volatility, risk, and potential gains.

Meanwhile, Microsoft's quantum chip development timeline has raised concerns about the security of Bitcoin reserves. The company's CEO, Satya Nadella, has stated that their quantum chip could achieve one million Qbits by 2027-2029, which would be sufficient to crack Bitcoin wallets and most current cryptographic systems. According to BTC trading platform River, such a computer could take only two weeks to crack BTC wallets, and with 13-300 million Qbits, it could reduce this time to about eight hours or less.

This potential threat has sparked discussions about the need to quantum-proof the Bitcoin network. Several proposals, such as QuBit, have been put forth to make the network ready for the post-quantum era. However, the success of these upgrades remains uncertain, and the quantum chip's threat could potentially impact states' plans for a Bitcoin reserve if the network is not adequately protected.