Justin Sun Warns Quantum Computing Could Break Bitcoin Within 18 Months

TRON founder Justin Sun has warned that artificial intelligence and quantum computing could threaten Bitcoins security and put a huge amount of crypto at risk. Yet he is still holding his own Bitcoin, which makes it harder for investors to judge how seriously to take the warning.

In a recent interview, Sun reportedly said these technologies could break Bitcoin‘s cryptographic protections within about 12 to 18 months. He pointed to early wallets as the weak spot, including those linked to Bitcoin’s mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. By his estimate, a successful attack could expose one million to two million BTC to theft or liquidation, which would unsettle crypto markets worldwide.

Suns outlook on Bitcoin has turned more bearish, but he reportedly said he has not cut his BTC holdings over the past year. He did sell roughly 80% to 90% of his tactical Ethereum positions when ETH traded between $3,600 and $4,000. Much of that money reportedly went into US equities, mainly NVIDIA and funds that track the Nasdaq 100.

If Bitcoin faces a security crisis within two years, why does one of the industrys best-known figures keep holding it?

The technical picture has several layers. Bitcoin uses multiple cryptographic tools, including the SHA-256 hashing algorithm and elliptic curve digital signatures. Ordinary computers cannot work out a private key from an exposed public key, but a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could in theory use Shors algorithm to break certain signature schemes.

AI could speed up quantum computing research and make the machines more efficient. Publicly verified evidence, however, does not show that a quantum computer able to break Bitcoin‘s cryptography will exist within Sun’s timeframe. A weakness that exists on paper still has a long way to go before it becomes a working attack.

If quantum computers do reach that point, some early wallets with exposed public keys could become vulnerable. That would still not release millions of coins onto the market overnight, since an attack depends on the attackers hardware, the wallet type and what the attacker chooses to do. Bitcoin developers could also roll out quantum-resistant upgrades, letting active holders move their coins to safer addresses.

Abandoned and inaccessible wallets are the harder problem. Protecting them could mean changing the protocol, restricting vulnerable coins or settling questions of network governance. Any of these would spark fierce debate over Bitcoins founding principles of decentralisation and ownership.

For Malaysian investors, the story points to a risk beyond normal price swings. A credible quantum breakthrough could shift institutional sentiment, rattle global Bitcoin prices and hit local investors who hold digital assets through regulated exchanges. When dramatic security warnings spread on social media, it helps to separate verified technical progress from speculation.