Jim Cramer Plans to Sell Bitcoin as IBM CEO Warns Against Quantum Computing Threats

Key highlights:

  • Jim Cramer is selling his Bitcoin holdings after a recent interview with the CEO of IBM
  • The CEO warned him about the future quantum computing threats
  • Cramer hasn’t revealed how much of his BTC holdings he is planning to offload

CNBC host Jim Cramer recently revealed his plans to sell his Bitcoin holdings after an interview with IBM CEO Arvind Krishna. Driven by the IBM CEO’s stark warning against potential quantum computing threats, Cramer decided to take a cautious approach to BTC.

Notably, these remarks once again sparked concerns about the future of Bitcoin when quantum computers potentially target it. Developers across various blockchain ecosystems are currently working on quantum-safe solutions. However, Cramer’s decision has drawn attention across the crypto community, which remains anxious about the long-term risks of quantum computing and the ecosystem’s ongoing technological evolution.

Why is Jim Cramer selling his Bitcoin?

Although quantum computing risks are far from the current reality, the crypto industry has started taking initiatives like introducing quantum-safe cryptography to safeguard against the threats. Amid this backdrop, CNBC host Jim Cramer has taken a strange step of selling his BTC holdings to protect himself from potential threats.

Cramer’s decision came in response to IBM CEO Arvind Krishna’s warning against quantum computers. Krishna noted in a recent interview on CNBC, “I think that you should give yourself three or four years, and at that point, I would get rather paranoid about it.”

“Arvind Krishna knows quantum incredibly. He knows Bitcoin and quantum. And I’m going to sell mine,” stated Cramer four days after this interview. This indicates that Cramer has been convinced by the IBM chief that Bitcoin’s days are numbered if the community doesn’t adapt to the quantum threat fast enough.

Several previous instances and reports reveal that the CNBC host has been skeptical about Bitcoin for years. But eventually, he became optimistic and started exploring the opportunities in the crypto space. Now, with the latest episode, he has once again become bearish about it.

However, he hasn’t yet disclosed how many Bitcoins he holds in total or how much he plans to offload. He previously sold a portion of his BTC portfolio in 2021 to clear his house mortgage. But soon, during a subsequent crypto market crash, he claimed to have purchased another set of BTCs.

Is quantum computing a threat today?

As of now, no quantum computer is powerful enough to break the cryptography of the Bitcoin ecosystem. While Krishna has stated that quantum computing threats are near and could attack Bitcoin in three to four years, it is just speculation at this point. 

This is explained more in IBM’s roadmap. The company aims to build a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer called Starling by 2029. This system will use around 200 logical qubits and perform up to 100 million quantum operations. But the company has never guaranteed that Starling will be capable of cracking Bitcoin private keys or breaking the encryption that protects the network.

According to Glassnode data, around 1.92 million BTC, or 9.6% of the total supply, is structurally exposed. Another 4.12 million BTC is operationally exposed, the platform added. This means that these coins are likely to be vulnerable to future quantum computers.

Google Quantum has also made a detailed study on the case. In March, the team stated that a future quantum computer could solve Bitcoin’s elliptic curve cryptography. It can also attack any digital assets with fewer than 500,000 physical qubits.

However, what turns out to be reassuring is that quantum remains a future threat, not a present-day issue, as stressed by Google. As blockchain networks are increasingly working to safeguard themselves from potential attacks, experts believe that quantum computers could not have a greater impact on the broader ecosystem.

Source:: Jim Cramer Plans to Sell Bitcoin as IBM CEO Warns Against Quantum Computing Threats