President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Monday aimed at accelerating U.S. quantum computing capabilities, a move that some crypto-industry experts argue will be a boon to quantum-secure blockchain R&D.
"The implications are government dollars and time spent towards realizing those goals," Project Eleven CEO Alex Pruden told The Block via email, referring to the dual offensive and defensive goals of Trump’s EOs to achieve post-quantum security.
The orders — EO 14409 on securing the nation against advanced cryptographic attacks and EO 14411 on ushering in the next frontier of quantum innovation — establish concrete timelines, including a push for quantum sensors by September 2028 and full post-quantum cryptography (PQC) migration for federal high-value assets and high-impact systems by the end of 2031.
Trump’s orders come amid growing awareness of the quantum threats to the cryptography underpinning blockchains. Organizations like the Ethereum Foundation and Solana Foundation have begun R&D efforts to achieve post-quantum security, and many within the Bitcoin community have raised alarms about the potential risks.
It’s estimated that millions of bitcoins with exposed public addresses are at risk, as powerful enough quantum computers can use Shor’s algorithm to derive their private keys.
