White House moved US post quantum cryptography deadline to December 2031

On June 22, US President Donald Trump signed two executive orders at the White House, joined by executives from Google and IBM. The move was described by White House officials as the most ambitious quantum technology agenda in American history. One of the orders aims to build a quantum computer capable of producing scientifically meaningful results by 2028, while the other advances the timetable for US federal agencies to adopt post quantum cryptography from 2035 to December 2031.

Quantum technology targets accelerated

Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, stated after the announcement that the Department of Energy will build the first quantum computer to be used in scientific discovery by 2028. He also noted that federal agencies plan to deploy quantum sensors and networks within the next five years, and the FBI will lead a new initiative to protect quantum research and intellectual property from foreign espionage.

The first order, numbered 14411 and titled “New Frontiers in Quantum Innovation,” establishes a framework focused on investment and development. With this initiative, the Quantum Computer for Application Development and Discovery Science project was launched. Following the previously announced $2 billion capital investment, the Department of Commerce was also tasked with expanding federal support for private quantum technology firms.

Regulatory changes draw crypto industry focus

Of particular interest to the cryptocurrency market is the second order, numbered 14409 and entitled “Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks.” This directive brings forward the federal transition to post quantum cryptography by four years, moving the original deadline from 2035 to December 2031. In addition, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been told to complete pilot migrations in federal systems by December 2027.

The executive orders also require agency heads to appoint a post quantum cryptography transition officer within 30 days. New acquisition rules were introduced for federal contractors, who will be expected to use NIST standardized post quantum algorithms by the end of 2030.

Mini glossary: Post quantum cryptography refers to encryption methods designed to withstand attacks from not only classical computers, but also potentially powerful quantum computers of the future. NIST is the US agency that sets technical standards and serves as a key reference for algorithm selection in this field.

Potential impact on Bitcoin and Ethereum

Major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, as well as other leading digital assets, rely on elliptic curve cryptography to verify wallet ownership and authorize transactions. Analysts warn that a sufficiently advanced quantum computer could, in theory, use the Shor algorithm to derive private keys from publicly visible information on-chain. While this threat is still theoretical, it is increasingly factoring into industry security planning.

Earlier this month, the Independent Quantum Computing and Blockchain Advisory Board at Coinbase warned that around 7 million BTC currently reside in addresses with publicly visible keys. The board also assessed that both early wallets from the Satoshi era and some active cold wallets used by exchanges could be at risk under this scenario.

While Google has set a target of 2029 for transitioning its own systems to post quantum cryptography, the US federal government has now advanced its own deadline to 2031 under Trump’s new orders. Meanwhile, Bitcoin developers have proposed BIP 360 and BIP 361 as security responses. One proposal involves creating new, quantum resistant Bitcoin addresses, while the other suggests eventually freezing coins held in old, potentially vulnerable, dormant addresses.

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