Bitcoin has lost some of its shine on Wall Street. The asset once perceived as the quintessence of financial modernity no longer appeals as much to major managers. Institutional investors seem to be returning to more tangible values. Is this just a pause in the romance between finance and blockchain, or the start of a break? One thing is certain: in the Jefferies offices, distrust has set in.
In brief
- Jefferies is removing 10% of bitcoin from its portfolio, replaced by physical gold and mining stocks.
- Quantum computing raises fears of a major vulnerability of cryptos to future attacks.
- Developers like Adam Back and Jameson Lopp consider the threat still distant, but real.
- The crypto market is reorganizing itself: institutional prudence, post-quantum financing and a return to material security.
From surge to caution: when Jefferies turns its back on bitcoin
The crypto market appears to be stabilizing after months of uncertainty, but confidence remains fragile. Christopher Wood, global strategist at Jefferies, made a choice that made noise: he removed the 10% of bitcoin from his model portfolio to invest equally in physical gold and mining stocks. A strong symbol. The man who saw BTC as a digital alternative to the yellow metal now believes that the cryptographic security of the network could be threatened by advances in quantum computing.
In his letter Greed & Fearhe evokes a threat that extends beyond the price: the loss of the status of “store of value” with institutional investors.
There is an ongoing debate about whether to “burn” quantum-vulnerable coins or do nothing and risk those coins being “stolen” by entities with so-called CRQCs (cryptographically relevant quantum computers). The problem, it seems, is that deriving a public key from a private key is a simple computational operation, whereas the reverse operation would take supercomputers trillions of years.
Christopher Wood
For him, the risk is no longer theoretical. In a world where computing power is exploding, gold once again becomes an anchor. A return to the material in the face of the volatility of the code.
The quantum weapon: an existential challenge for the crypto sphere
The debate around the “quantum threat” is not new, but it is taking on an unprecedented scale. In February 2025, Microsoft presented the Majorana 1 chip, a quantum computing prototype intended to accelerate the advent of the famous Q-Day, the day when current cryptography gives way. Since then, the crypto community has been following this issue very closely.
A Chaincode Labs study evokes 4 to 10 million BTC potentially vulnerable to a quantum attack, or up to 50% of the total supply. The head of research at Coinbase, David Duong, estimates that nearly a third of bitcoin in circulation – including wallets dating from the Satoshi era – would remain exposed to this risk.
The developers remain calm. Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream, reminded that breaking current signature patterns would take another 20 to 40 years.
Between institutional prudence and technical confidence, the gap is widening. Finance wants to anticipate, crypto wants to believe in the long term.
Crypto, fear and repositioning: when gold becomes the absolute refuge again
For some analysts, Jefferies' decision is not a condemnation of bitcoin, but an adaptation to the spirit of the times. Crypto investors are observing a reallocation of portfolios towards assets perceived as more stable. Even El Salvador has fragmented its BTC reserves into 14 separate addresses to limit exposure risks.
On the ground, the industry is organizing itself. Project Eleven has raised USD 20 million to develop post-quantum cybersecurity tools. And the crypto-sphere comes alive: on X, developer Jameson Lopp wrote last December:
No, quantum computers won't break Bitcoin in the near future
But the signals are clear: the market is looking for a new narrative. Gold regains its role as insurance, while Bitcoin tries to preserve its legitimacy in a world where even qubits are involved.
The numbers to remember in the Bitcoin–quantum battle
- $94,803: current price of BTC;
- 10%: share of Bitcoin removed from the Jefferies portfolio;
- 4 to 10 million BTC: estimate of vulnerable stock;
- 20 million USD: raised by Project Eleven to strengthen crypto security;
- 14 addresses: new management of El Salvador's Bitcoin reserves.
Grayscale experts also believe that the quantum threat is still distant. They remind us that the blockchain has time and tools to adapt. Moreover, post-quantum solutions, like those developed by Naoris, are progressing rapidly to anticipate this future where cryptography will have to reinvent itself.
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