Quantum-resistant cryptocurrencies surge after Google warning

Google’s Quantum AI said a sufficiently advanced quantum computer could break the elliptic-curve cryptography behind Bitcoin with fewer than 500,000 qubits—potentially in as little as nine minutes. The warning revived long-term blockchain security fears and reignited debate over whether core networks can withstand future quantum attacks. BTC and ETH saw little reported movement, but traders rotated into quantum-resistant cryptocurrencies and post-quantum cryptography narratives. Over the past 24 hours, the segment’s market cap rose about 8% to $4.66B as “future-proofing” demand increased. Zcash (ZEC) drew the most attention. Even though it has not fully deployed quantum-resistant algorithms, its privacy tooling (including zero-knowledge proofs) and ongoing post-quantum secure ZK-SNARK research helped it surge more than 1,200% in the latter half of 2025, reaching around $744. Other quantum-linked tokens also gained, including QRL (+~50%), CEL (+~40%), ABEL (+~25%), QUBIC (+~10%), and QANX (+~10%). Separately, commentary highlighted multiple Ethereum attack vectors and flagged roughly $100B in DeFi and tokenized assets as potentially exposed. Charles Edwards (Capriole Investments) added that quantum risk has started to weigh on BTC’s relative performance, with BTC underperforming the S&P 500 and trailing gold in his analysis. Bottom line for traders: the Google statement is turning quantum-resistant cryptocurrencies into a near-term trading theme, with most price action concentrated in quantum-hedge and post-quantum projects, while BTC/ETH response appears muted.