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Quantum Computing stocks have been in the limelight since December 2024, when Google’s cutting-edge Willow chip was able to perform a given computation task in under 5 minutes versus the 10 septillion (10^25) years that today’s fastest supercomputers would take to complete the same task, capturing the imagination of not only the market at large but also established innovators, including Elon Musk and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, in the process.

For the benefit of those who might not be aware, Google’s Willow quantum computing architecture is revolutionary on two counts: it dynamically reduces errors as the entire system scales up with the addition of more qubits, thereby overcoming a major roadblock.

While the development had prompted doomsday predictions for Bitcoin, which is stored in wallets protected by AES encryption that theoretically remains vulnerable to quantum computing advances, we had noted at the time that the ensuing fear-mongering was largely superfluous, especially as it will require as many as 1,500 qubits working continuously for 15 to 20 years to crack the cryptocurrency’s encryption. For context, do note that Google’s Willow chip currently consists of just 105 qubits.

It is, however, quite likely that quantum computing will, eventually, become powerful enough to crack AES encryption. And when it does, it will likely unleash a free-for-all galore worth up to an estimated $879 billion, based on today’s Bitcoin price of around $112,000.

As per a fresh analysis by Sound Money Report’s Ronan Manly, between 2.3 million BTC and 7.8 million BTC – equivalent to between 11 percent and 37 percent, respectively, of Bitcoin’s total circulating supply – is currently sitting in dormant wallets that have become inaccessible due to forgotten encryption keys or untimely deaths.

This means that up to 37 percent of Bitcoin’s total circulating supply might become accessible once quantum computing is able to crack AES encryption, ensuring a huge payday for first movers. In fact, the ensuing dump might be so large as to precipitate an entire bearish cycle for Bitcoin on its own.

By then, the vast majority of Bitcoin holders will have transitioned to wallets hardened against quantum computing hacks. However, dormant wallets will likely not be able to do so, especially in the case of coins lost as a result of untimely deaths.





Of course, this huge payday is still a fair distance away, judging by the current limited ability of quantum computing systems.