Blockstream CEO Adam Back publicly rebuked Castle Island Ventures partner Nic Carter after he explained why his company supported Project Eleven, a startup that the company says will protect Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets from quantum computing risks.
Back told Carter on X that his post made “uninformed noise” and was “unhelpful.” The exchange highlighted sharper divisions in the Bitcoin community over how loudly it should warn about future threats.
Back shouts a public warning
According to Back, Bitcoin developers are not ignoring quantum risk. Work is progressing quietly. He argued that the technology was still “ridiculously nascent” and would not pose a real threat for several decades.
In his public message, White called for calm, welcomed the idea of ”quantum readiness” and said loud alarms could cause confusion rather than useful action, according to the report.
There is no denying that Bitcoin users and developers are conducting defensive R&D to prepare for the quantum computers of the future. But they are just quietly doing their research while you try to make noise and move the market without any information. You are not helping…
— Adam Baek (@adam3us) December 19, 2025
Carter said he invested because he felt “quantum looted” and was deeply concerned after speaking with Project Eleven CEO Alex Pruden.
Carter also pointed out that he disclosed his financial stake in a Substack post on October 20 and accused some developers of “outright denial.”
He warned that governments are planning for a post-quantum era and called Bitcoin itself a tempting “bug bounty” if the cryptocurrency remains unchanged.
Because if both parties didn’t think it was risky, they wouldn’t have invested.
— Nick Carter (@nic_carter) December 19, 2025
Experts are divided over the timing
Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments, told his followers that quantum threats could emerge within two to nine years unless networks switch to quantum-resistant cryptography.
According to a public statement by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, predictive models suggest that there is roughly a 20% chance that machines capable of breaking today’s public key cryptography will arrive before 2030, with the median estimate being closer to 2040.
Vitalik said no such machines currently exist, but urged early preparation because migrating a global system would take years.
Metaculus’ average date for quantum computers to break modern cryptography is 2040: https://t.co/Li8ni8A9Ox
The probability of this occurring before the end of 2030 appears to be approximately 20%.
— Vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 27, 2025
Other voices sound less surprised. Multi-millionaire investor Kevin O’Leary said he doubted breaking Bitcoin with quantum computing would be the best use of the technology, arguing it would provide more value in areas such as medical research.
These opinions show how opinions differ not only on the timing but also on the actual incentives behind quantum attacks.
Research, migration and market signals
Technology experts point out one thing: Currently, there is no quantum computer that can crack Bitcoin’s encryption.
That fact hasn’t stopped investors from betting on startups that claim to be building protection tools.
Castle Island’s investment, which recently resurfaced on social media, has sparked a new debate about whether transparency and public warnings help or harm the ecosystem.
Featured image from Quartz, chart from TradingView
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