As governments continue building clearer crypto regulations through frameworks like the proposed Clarity Act, a much larger issue is slowly moving into focus behind the scenes: quantum computing risks.
In an exclusive interview with Coinpedia, Moona Ederveen-Schneider, founder of a quantum security consultancy and former Executive Director EMEA, Financial Services, shared why the crypto industry may already be running out of time to prepare for future quantum threats.
According to her, the conversation is no longer just about compliance or market structure. It is increasingly becoming about long-term cryptographic survival.
Clarity Act Could Quietly Raise Security Standards
While Moona said the Clarity Act itself is mainly focused on market structure, she believes the ripple effects could significantly impact digital asset security standards over time.
“The direct impact on encryption methods may be narrow, but the ripple effects are profound,” she explained.
According to her, clearer regulations and stronger custody expectations could push institutions toward more resilient infrastructure where operational security becomes a competitive advantage instead of simply a compliance requirement.
She also stressed that regulators should focus more on “security outcomes” like crypto-agility, quantum resilience, and post-quantum readiness rather than locking the industry into algorithms that could eventually become outdated.
“The Industry Should Already Be Transitioning”
One of the strongest warnings from the interview centered around the growing “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” threat.
Moona explained that attackers can already collect encrypted data today with the intention of decrypting it once quantum computing becomes powerful enough in the future.
“The exposure window is already open,” she warned.
According to her, the industry should already be moving beyond pure research and into active transition planning because cryptographic migrations often take years or even decades to complete.
She pointed to several major signals already pushing the industry toward action, including Google’s internal 2029 migration target, similar timelines from IBM and Cloudflare, and new government guidance emerging across the US, UK, EU, and India.
Bitcoin’s Biggest Strength Could Become Its Weakness
When discussing Bitcoin, Moona said the network’s decentralized governance structure could become a major coordination challenge during a future quantum-related emergency.
“Bitcoin’s resistance to change is both its greatest strength and its greatest vulnerability,” she said.
She explained that while technical upgrade solutions already exist, achieving agreement across miners, developers, institutions, and users under time pressure would be far more difficult.
Moona also raised concerns around dormant Bitcoin wallets, including Satoshi-era holdings, which may eventually face exposure risks if quantum capabilities advance far enough.
“Resilience is more than mathematics,” she said. “It depends on the people who must agree on it.”
