BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, announced in a new update to its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) regulatory filing that it considers quantum computing a potential risk in its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The company warned that quantum computing could break cryptographic algorithms that protect Bitcoin.
There have been ongoing discussions of how quantum computing could threaten Bitcoin’s security. The worries began last December when Google launched Willow, its next-generation quantum chip. The tech firm said Willow would solve certain computational tasks in minutes, tasks that would have taken the world’s most powerful supercomputers 10 septillion years.
Microsoft also unveiled its own quantum chip, Majorana 1, just a few months later. The firm said the chip would address key scalability challenges that have long held the technology sector back. Such developments have elevated fears in the crypto space about how fast quantum computing is advancing and whether it could soon threaten the cryptographic foundations that secure digital assets.
BlackRock flags quantum computing as a potential risk to BTC ETFs
BlackRock asset manager warned on May 9 that quantum computing poses a risk to the cryptographic integrity that protects Bitcoin. The firm added quantum computing as a risk in a new update to its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) regulatory filing.
The company argued that future advancements in quantum computing could theoretically decrypt private keys used in blockchain networks, which could compromise wallet security, transaction verification, and the overall integrity of the Bitcoin network.
“If quantum computing technology is able to advance … it could potentially undermine the viability of many of the cryptographic algorithms used across the world’s information technology infrastructure, including cryptographic algorithms used for digital assets like Bitcoin.”
It marked the first time the company has flagged this risk in its IBIT disclosures. According to BlackRock’s website, its IBIT exchange-traded fund is the largest spot Bitcoin ETF, with roughly $64 billion in net assets.
Quantum computing is an emerging field that utilizes quantum mechanics to enhance computer processing capabilities. BlackRock argued that because the technology is still developing, it is difficult to predict its ultimate effect on the future value of Bitcoin and other digital assets.
James Seyffart, an analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, also clarified that risk disclosures such as IBIT’s must highlight every possible risk to an asset, even those extremely unlikely. He believes they are basic risk disclosures, the standard for any invested asset.
Was also an amended filing for the iShares Bitcoin ETF — $IBIT. It already had similar in-kind like above language added in early February
But one change was a bunch of new language added regarding the risks from Quantum computing. First image is new paragraph. 2nd is old👀 pic.twitter.com/VJszHFtcRi
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) May 9, 2025
The asset management firm also filed an amendment to its iShares Ethereum trust on Friday, adding provisions for in-kind creation and redemption. The report was revealed after BlackRock met with SEC staff to discuss implementing staking and parameters for options trading on crypto ETFs.
Bitcoin ETFs hit record-breaking inflows
Data from Farside Investors showed that since launching in January, Bitcoin ETFs have collectively attracted more than $41 billion in net inflows. He also noted that on May 8, Bitcoin ETF net inflows surpassed all-time highs of around $40 billion.
Eric Balchunas, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, highlighted that lifetime net flows are the most impressive metric to watch since they’re very hard to grow. Balchunas also argued that it was impressive that the BTC ETFs were able to make it to new highs so soon in the wake of continued weeks of market tensions.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino predicted in February that quantum computing would eventually enable hackers to break into inactive Bitcoin wallets and recover the dormant digital assets. He said that any Bitcoin in lost wallets will be hacked and put back into circulation.
Ardoino argued that nothing can change BTC’s 21 million supply, not even quantum computing. He said quantum computing is still far from any meaningful risk of breaking Bitcoin cryptography.
Cryptocurrency analyst Willy Woo was curious who would hack the 3.7M BTC that’s lost, whether it was Google, NSA, China, or some new quantum computing venture. Woo believes the $350B lost virtual assets will be worth trillions soon, and the lost BTC will accelerate funding into quantum computing.
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