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Michael Saylor Weighs In on Quantum Threat to Bitcoin

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Michael Saylor Weighs In on Quantum Threat to Bitcoin

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor said he does not believe quantum computing represents Bitcoin’s (BTC) greatest security threat at the moment.

This statement comes as the quantum computing narrative continues to be a focus of debate among crypto circles. Some argue that it has already started to impact Bitcoin’s valuation and institutional exposure.

Michael Saylor Dismisses Quantum Threat to Bitcoin

During an appearance on Natalie Brunell’s Coin Stories podcast, Saylor weighed in on growing concerns over quantum computing. He said the broader cybersecurity community generally agrees that any meaningful quantum-related risk remains at least a decade away. Saylor added that it’s not a “this decade thing.”

“Whether or not there will be a quantum threat or a quantum risk is a question that is yet to be decided. But there’s certainly no consensus that there is any threat right now or that there will be a threat materializing anytime soon,” he commented. “I don’t actually think that the quantum, you know, narrative is the greatest security threat to Bitcoin right now. I don’t think it has been.”

He emphasized that major breakthrough quantum capabilities would not catch the industry off guard. If a quantum threat materialized, global banking systems, internet infrastructure, consumer devices, artificial intelligence (AI) networks, and crypto protocols, including Bitcoin, would coordinate software upgrades to quantum-resistant cryptography. 

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Previously, Saylor has suggested that Bitcoin’s greatest threat comes from ambitious opportunists pushing for changes to the protocol.

“The software does change. If you’ve got 30 versions of Bitcoin core in an asset which is 17 years old, do the math in your head and figure out how long it takes for versions of this stuff to roll out. The nodes will upgrade, the hardware will upgrade, the wallets will upgrade, the exchanges will upgrade. How will they upgrade? Well, wait 10 years. There will be global consensus about the best way to deal with it. There is no global consensus right now because there isn’t a credible threat right now,” he added.

Saylor also downplayed fears of Bitcoin facing isolated vulnerability. He noted that major corporations, financial institutions, and governments worldwide rely on digital systems that would face similar exposure in the event of a credible quantum breakthrough.

Companies such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Coinbase, and BlackRock, alongside global governments and major banks, would all be confronting the same challenge.

“When and if it materializes, I expect that there will be some software or hardware or both reaction to it. The crypto community is actually the most sophisticated cybersecurity community,” he remarked. “So I think that the crypto security community will be the first, you know, to perceive the threat and to react to the threat, and they’ll be leading the way.”

From Wall Street to Core Devs: Crypto Braces for the Quantum Era

While the technical threat may be distant, institutional capital appears to be pricing in uncertainty. Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary recently stated that many institutions are capping their Bitcoin exposure due to concerns over quantum computing.

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Christopher Wood, Global Head of Equity Strategy at Jefferies, has removed Bitcoin from his model portfolio over similar fears. Meanwhile, analysts including Willy Woo and Charles Edwards argue that quantum-related uncertainty could be contributing to Bitcoin’s relative underperformance against gold and weighing on its price.

As the debate intensifies, defensive measures are accelerating across the industry. Ethereum has incorporated post-quantum readiness into its planned 2026 protocol priorities update. Coinbase and Optimism are also actively planning post-quantum security enhancements.

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On the Bitcoin side, developers have merged Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 360 (BIP 360) into the official BIP GitHub repository.

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Binance vs. Whistleblowers: The $1B Iran Sanctions Breach Allegation

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Binance vs. Whistleblowers: The $1B Iran Sanctions Breach Allegation

Binance is back in the spotlight. Former compliance investigators now claim the exchange allegedly processed more than $1B in transactions tied to Iran sanctions violations, even while operating under U.S. monitorship after its 2023 plea deal.

Changpeng Zhao is not staying quiet. Instead of denying activity outright, he argues the investigators were fired for failing to stop the breaches, not for exposing them.

Now the fight is turning public, risking a return of regulatory pressure just as Binance tries to steady its global footing.

Key Takeaways

  • Former investigators allege Binance processed nearly $1 billion in transactions linked to Iran after its 2023 plea deal.
  • The staff claim they were fired in retaliation for identifying and flagging the suspicious on-chain activity to management.
  • CZ counters that the employees were dismissed for incompetence because they failed to block the illicit flows in the first place.

What is the $1B Sanctions Breach Allegation?

Five former Binance investigators say they were fired after uncovering major sanctions breaches. They claim wallets tied to Iranian entities, including the exchange Nobitex, allegedly moved around $1B through Binance even after the November 2023 DOJ settlement.

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These investigators worked on chain forensics. They say bad actors used obfuscation methods to slip past screening systems. When they flagged it internally, they allege the response was not corrective but retaliatory.

Binance is still under a three-year monitorship from the DOJ and FinCEN, which means any compliance failure carries extra weight.

The Whistleblowers’ Case: Retaliation or Restructuring?

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The former employees are framing this as whistleblower retaliation. They say once they flagged the $1B exposure, they became a problem for an exchange trying to show regulators it had cleaned up.

In their view, the issue was not just the transactions. It was how Binance handled the discovery. They argue the exchange focused more on containing the fallout than fixing the screening gaps.

They also point to the size of the flows as proof that automated filters were not catching everything. If the system failed and the people who caught it were removed, that would weaken internal defenses.

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CZ’s Defense: ‘Fired for Cause’

CZ is pushing back as he always does. He says this is not whistleblower retaliation. It is a performance issue. If investigators uncovered $1B in illicit flows, why were those flows not stopped in the first place?

Binance claims the departures were part of a compliance overhaul. The company says it brought in stronger talent and points to a 97% drop in sanctions related transaction volume between early 2024 and mid 2025 as proof that reforms are working. It denies firing anyone for reporting violations.

The stakes are huge. Binance already paid $4.3B in penalties tied to AML and sanctions failures and is operating under a DOJ monitorship. If regulators conclude the exchange ignored new violations or retaliated against staff, it could jeopardize that agreement.

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Everything hinges on intent. If the firings were performance based, fallout may be limited. If not, regulatory pressure could intensify fast.

Ultimately, the outcome of this dispute will likely hinge on the internal documentation of the firings. If the data supports CZ’s claim of incompetence, Binance moves on.

Discover: Here are the crypto likely to explode!

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Arizona advances bill to hold Bitcoin and XRP in state reserve

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Arizona advances bill to hold Bitcoin and XRP in state reserve

Lawmakers in Arizona have taken a significant step toward formalizing state-level engagement with digital assets by advancing legislation that would create a Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund, allowing the state to hold, invest and potentially lend seized cryptocurrencies.

Summary

  • Arizona lawmakers advanced Senate Bill 1649, which would create a Digital Assets Strategic Reserve Fund allowing the state to hold, invest and potentially lend seized cryptocurrencies.
  • The fund would be administered by the State Treasurer and capitalized using confiscated or forfeited crypto assets rather than taxpayer funds.
  • Eligible assets include Bitcoin, XRP and DigiByte, marking a notable step toward formal state-level recognition of digital assets.

Arizona senate backs crypto reserve fund

The measure, Senate Bill 1649 (SB1649), cleared the Senate Finance Committee in a 4–2 vote and was subsequently approved by the Senate Rules Committee, moving it closer to a full Senate vote.

Under the proposed law, the Arizona State Treasurer would administer the reserve, using assets that have been confiscated, forfeited or surrendered through criminal or civil enforcement actions. Instead of relying on taxpayer dollars to acquire crypto on the open market, the fund would be capitalized with these seized holdings.

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Eligible assets named in the bill include Bitcoin (BTC), XRP (XRP) and DigiByte, alongside other digital assets that meet specified “fair value” criteria such as stablecoins and non-fungible tokens.

The inclusion of XRP in the reserve’s eligibility framework marks a notable development for the token, as it would represent one of the first instances of a U.S. government entity formally recognizing it as a potential reserve asset.

While the legislation does not require the state to immediately purchase or hold these assets, it establishes a legal structure for doing so in the future.

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The bill’s progress highlights a broader trend in U.S. crypto policy, with several states exploring ways to integrate digital assets into public finance strategies.

However, similar initiatives in Arizona have faced pushback in the past from Governor Katie Hobbs, who has expressed caution about exposing state funds to cryptocurrency volatility. SB1649 must still pass both chambers of the legislature and survive executive review before becoming law.

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Ethereum Foundation starts 70,000 ETH staking process to fund operations, bolster network

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Ethereum Foundation starts 70,000 ETH staking process to fund operations, bolster network

The Ethereum Foundation has started staking part of its treasury holdings, putting around 70,000 ETH to work as part of its plan to support ongoing operations in the Ethereum ecosystem.

The staking commenced with a 2,016 ETH deposit, and uses Dirk and Vouch, open-source validator tools developed by infrastructure firm Attestant, the Foundation said.

Dirk functions as a distributed signer that allows for coordination across multiple jurisdictions and reduces single points of failure, while Vouch handles validator duties.

The decision follows the public release of the Foundation’s treasury policy last year to manage crypto and fiat holdings in a way that balances long-term sustainability with Ethereum-aligned values such as decentralization, open-source access and user privacy.

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Rather than letting ETH sit idle, the Foundation now plans to earn staking rewards and redirect those back into funding protocol research, ecosystem development, and community grants.

Based on the CoinDesk Composite Ether Staking Rate (CESR), the current staking yield of the Ethereum validator population is around 2.808%. Data from Arkham Intelligence shows the Ethereum Foundation currently has 172,650 ETH it could deploy, along with an additional 10,000 wrapped ether (WETH).

The staking setup uses a combination of hosted infrastructure and self-managed hardware, including minority clients, spread across several countries, the Foundation said.

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Hashgraph Group Launches Hedera Tool for EU Digital Product Passports

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Hashgraph Group Launches Hedera Tool for EU Digital Product Passports

The Hashgraph Group, a Swiss technology company building on the Hedera network, launched TrackTrace, a platform aimed at helping prepare for upcoming European Union product-compliance requirements tied to digital product passports.

TrackTrace is designed to improve supply-chain visibility by tracking goods and recording product data, including emissions-related information, in a way that can be used for compliance reporting and authenticity checks, the company said in a Tuesday announcement.

The platform builds verifiable audit trails for product-specific data, sustainability credentials, durability and reparability, while incorporating agentic artificial intelligence (AI) to automate workflows for compliance reporting.

The blockchain-based solution comes in response to the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulation (ESPR), which went into effect on July 18, 2024. The ESPR creates a framework for product-specific rules that can include a Digital Product Passport (DPP) to standardize how key product information is recorded and shared across multiple supply chains.

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A major early milestone is the EU’s battery passport requirement under the EU Battery Regulation, which is set to apply from Feb. 18, 2027, for certain categories including electric-vehicle and industrial batteries above 2 kilowatt-hours.

DPP requirements will extend to textiles, apparel, iron, steel and other priority items starting July 2027.

Related: EU to ban anonymous crypto accounts and privacy coins by 2027

EU climate targets drive data demands

The EU’s Green Deal aims to transform the bloc into a more resource-efficient economy and cut emissions by at least 50% by 2030. It also aims to reach net carbon neutrality by 2050 through the European Climate Act.

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“The European Green Deal strives to establish the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and needs infrastructure it can trust to transform Europe into a modern, efficient, and sustainable economy,” wrote Stefan Deiss, co-founder and CEO at The Hashgraph Group.

“With TrackTrace built on Hedera, we deliver that critical trust data infrastructure layer that enables companies to comply with DPP regulation, while strengthening global supply chain integrity and fostering the transition to a sustainable, transparent, and circular economy.”

Businesses targeting EU markets will have to rely on solutions such as TrackTrace to ensure compliance with the ESPR.

The Hashgraph Group said it is working with PwC on digital product passport implementations for enterprise clients and that TrackTrace can support traceability across a product’s lifecycle. Cointelegraph reached out to The Hashgraph Group for more details on the collaboration.

Related: Bitcoin treasuries log rare selling streak as BTC trades near $66K

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TrackTrace builds on identity tools

TrackTrace has integrated The Hashgraph Group’s existing decentralized identity solution, IDTrust, to provide verifiable credentials in a decentralized manner.

This enables the linkage between physical events and digital records in a tamper-proof environment, where digital business processes and immutable data audit trails are anchored on the Hedera network.

Hedera claims to be the world’s most energy-efficient distributed ledger technology (DLT) that is governed by a council of leading global organisations including Dell, Deutsche Telecom, EDF, FedEx, Google, Hitachi, IBM, Mondelēz and Standard Bank, among over 30 Hedera Council members.

Competing supply chain traceability solutions include the blockchain-based IBM Sterling Transparent Supply, TraceX, Circular for batteries and plastics, and TrusTrace for fashion and textile traceability.

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Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026