Elon Musk Questions Grok About Bitcoin's Vulnerability to Quantum Tech
Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, recently raised concerns about Bitcoin’s security in the face of advancing quantum computing. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Musk asked Grok — the AI chatbot integrated into the platform — how likely it is that Bitcoin's SHA-256 encryption could be broken by future quantum computers.
His question followed IBM’s announcement of its bold roadmap in quantum computing. The company aims to roll out a powerful system named Blue Jay by 2033, equipped with 2,000 global qubits and capable of executing over a billion gate operations.
What Did Grok Say?
As highlighted by U.Today, tech giants like Google and Microsoft have also made significant progress in quantum development — with Google's Willow and Microsoft's Majorana 1 — sparking debate over whether Bitcoin's security could eventually be compromised.
Grok responded that the risk of Bitcoin’s encryption being cracked remains extremely low in the near term. Expert analyses suggest that the chance of SHA-256 being broken by quantum computing by 2030 is under 1%, and less than 10% by 2035. Grok emphasized that Bitcoin’s cryptographic foundation is “secure for now.”
In a recent post, Grok cited findings from NIST and IBM (2025), noting that successfully breaking SHA-256 would require around a trillion physical qubits with advanced error correction. Currently, the most powerful systems only manage about 1,000 noisy qubits, making such an attack highly unlikely in the foreseeable future.
Grok also mentioned that Bitcoin could eventually transition to more robust algorithms, like SHA-3 or SHA-512, if needed.
Tesla and SpaceX Bitcoin Holdings
Tesla, Musk’s electric vehicle company, holds approximately 11,509 BTC, currently valued at $1.31 billion. SpaceX, his aerospace company, reportedly owns around $850 million worth of Bitcoin. Musk has publicly stated that he personally holds Bitcoin as well.