Key Highlights
- Jefferies strategist Christopher Wood has removed Bitcoin from his model portfolio, citing quantum computing risks.
- Wood replaced the 10% Bitcoin allocation with gold and gold-mining stocks, which he sees as safer long-term stores of value.
- Some estimates suggest 20% to 50% of Bitcoin could be vulnerable if powerful quantum machines emerge.
Christopher Wood, Global Head of Equity Strategy at Jefferies, has officially removed a 10% allocation to Bitcoin from his model portfolio. This decision marks the end of a five-year feature of BTC in the portfolio, one that began in 2020, with Wood now arguing that the rise of quantum computing renders Bitcoin as an unreliable store of value in the long-term.
According to a Bloomberg report, he explained the decision in the latest edition of his “Greed & Fear” newsletter. Wood stated that advances in quantum computing could one day undermine the technology that secures Bitcoin.
He has replaced the 10% Bitcoin allocation with physical gold and gold-mining stocks, which he considers more established and reliable hedges.
Why quantum computing matters
Bitcoin’s security is based on cryptography that today’s computers cannot realistically break. Cracking a private key using conventional machines would take an impractical amount of time.
Quantum computers, on the other hand, rely on qubits as well as algorithms devised to solve these issues much faster. Once massive, stable quantum systems have been created, they will be able to generate their own private keys from public keys, giving hackers the ability to steal funds from wallets.
Jefferies has cited estimates suggesting that 20% to 50% of all Bitcoin in circulation could be vulnerable if cryptographically relevant quantum machines arrive, particularly older “Satoshi-era” coins and reused addresses.
Experts are divided
Many cryptography experts say computers capable of breaking Bitcoin’s elliptic-curve cryptography are likely still a decade or more away, noting that current quantum machines are small and highly error-prone.
Major institutions, including asset manager Grayscale, say quantum risk is unlikely to meaningfully affect Bitcoin prices in 2026.
According to Grayscale’s 2026 Digital Asset Outlook, Bitcoin is expected to reap the rewards of increasing institutional investment, greater regulation, and increasing concerns about traditional forms of currency.
In fact, Grayscale urges that a brand-new all-time high in Bitcoin will be reached in the first half of 2026. To show its scarcity, it indicates that the 20 millionth Bitcoin will be mined in March of 2026.
What happens next?
Even if quantum machines capable of breaking Bitcoin’s cryptography are years off, the debate has shifted from theory to planning. Developers, researchers, and holders are now discussing how blockchains can adopt post-quantum cryptography, new security systems designed to resist quantum attacks.
Wood’s move reflects growing caution among institutional investors about long-term technological risks, while many technical experts believe the threat remains distant, though not impossible. The debate over Bitcoin’s future security has now firmly entered mainstream financial discussion.
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