Quantum vs $3 Trillion of Crypto: Elliptic Curves & Post-Quantum Chains | Christopher Smith, Quantus

"Almost all of crypto's $3 trillion is secured by cryptography we've known has an expiry date for 30 years. What happens when it arrives? In this episode, we sit down with Christopher Smith, Founder & CEO at Quantus, for a deep conversation recorded at Bitcoin Asia 2026 in Hong Kong. Christopher Smith found Bitcoin in grad school studying maths and computer science, read the Wikipedia page, and describes a light bulb going off at how unusually coherent it was. He spent his career in blockchain, and he is blunt about Bitcoin's limits: it doesn't scale, it has less privacy than a credit card, and its digital signatures rest on elliptic curve cryptography that Shor's algorithm has threatened for three decades. This is the most technically substantial conversation in the series, and also one of the most reassuring — because as he explains, the defenders have the advantage. 🎙️ In This Episode • Finding Bitcoin in grad school through maths and computer science • The early Bitcoin mix of anarchist hackers, Austrian economists and spooks • 'Fix the money, fix the world' and where it stops being literal • Why money is far simpler than we make it • The uncomfortable comparison between central banking and counterfeiting • Quantus described as 'Bitcoin's grandson' • Where Bitcoin falls short: scaling and privacy • Why you have more privacy with Venmo than with Bitcoin • The quantum threat to elliptic curve cryptography • Shor's algorithm, 30 years old and finally relevant • Why failing digital signatures is a blockchain's worst failure mode • $3 trillion secured by cryptography that has to move • Orderly migration vs an emergency one • Trump's executive order moving the deadline from 2035 to 2030 • NIST's eight-year international post-quantum cryptography tournament • Why defenders have the advantage: no quantum computer needed • Why blockchain migration is uniquely hard: public keys and no admin • Launching with GPU proof of work as a fair distribution • Open sourcing the work so other chains can go post-quantum • Advice: your self-limiting beliefs are unverified and likely false ⏱️ Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:13 The journey into Bitcoin 12:23 What's next 14:36 The biggest challenge 17:19 Where to find them 👤 About Christopher Smith Christopher Smith is a founder of Quantus, a post-quantum proof-of-work blockchain. He has spent his career in blockchain and cryptography and open sources the project's post-quantum work for other chains to use. 🌐 Quantus: https://www.quantus.com/ 🐦 X: https://x.com/YuviLightman If you're interested in post-quantum cryptography, blockchain security, proof of work and sound money, this conversation is worth watching. Like, comment, and subscribe to @TheBlockopedia for more conversations from the Bitcoin and Web3 ecosystem. 📺 ABOUT THE BLOCKOPEDIA (TBP) The Blockopedia is an independent publication house bringing light to the hidden secrets of the blockchain industry — covering crypto, Web3 and the founders, builders and investors shaping it, through interviews, news and research. 🌐 Website: https://theblockopedia.com/ ▶️ YouTube:    / @theblockopedia   🐦 X: https://x.com/theblockopedia_ 📸 Instagram:   / theblockopedia_   💬 Telegram: https://t.me/theblockopedia 🔗 LinkedIn:   / theblockopediaofficial   👍 Facebook:   / theblockopedia   ✍️ Medium:   / theblockopedia   #Bitcoin #BitcoinAsia #HongKong #Crypto #Blockchain #TheBlockopedia #ChristopherSmith #Quantus #PostQuantumCryptography #BlockchainSecurity #ProofOfWork #SoundMoney"