If you think your crypto wallet is safe, think again. The quantum threat isn’t science fiction, it’s real, it’s coming, and it’s only a matter of time before your long-term secrets are at risk.
Harvest-Now, Decrypt-Later: The Looming Danger
Every time you unlock your wallet over the internet (even over TLS 1.2 with ECDHE) there’s a risk. Quantum computers are advancing, and powerful ones capable of breaking the elliptic-curve and RSA cryptography that protect your keys are no longer just theoretical. Harvest now, decrypt later attacks are already happening.
The attack scenario is simple:
- A malicious actor records your encrypted session today.
- In a few years, a large-scale quantum computer runs Shor’s algorithm.
- Your passphrase, long-term keys, and crypto holdings are instantly compromised.
TLS 1.3 with ECDHE may protect you today against classical attacks, but it’s quantum-insecure. Every transaction you make now could be harvested for decryption tomorrow.
Why Waiting Is Dangerous
Crypto wallets often contain long-term assets. Passphrases are rarely changed. That means your current sessions, if captured, become a ticking time bomb. Quantum computing isn’t about “if”, it’s about when. And every delay in upgrading to quantum-resistant practices increases your exposure.
What You Can Do Today
- Move to PQC-hybrid protocols: Sites and wallets that implement post-quantum cryptography combined with classical encryption. Use our free PQC checker to test if your services are quantum-ready.
- Use strong, high-entropy passphrases with memory-hard KDFs (Argon2, scrypt).
- Leverage hardware wallets and offline signing whenever possible.
- Never unlock wallets over untrusted networks without strict TLS 1.3 + PQC-hybrid protection.
At QuReady, we help companies assess, plan, and implement quantum-resilient strategies. Waiting is not an option, the quantum clock is ticking.