One of Wall Street’s Top Strategists No Longer Trusts Bitcoin | US Crypto News
Welcome to the US Crypto News Morning Briefing—your important rundown of crucial developments in crypto for the day forward.
Grab a espresso — as a result of this isn’t about worth charts, ETF flows, or the subsequent halving narrative. It’s about one thing much more uncomfortable: whether or not Bitcoin, because it exists right this moment, is constructed to final.
Crypto News of the Day: Why One of Wall Street’s Biggest Bitcoin Bulls Just Walked Away
A quiet however consequential shift is unfolding in institutional crypto pondering. Christopher Wood, world head of fairness technique at Jefferies and one of Wall Street’s most intently adopted market strategists, has eliminated Bitcoin totally from his flagship mannequin portfolio.
The Jeffries govt didn’t cite worth volatility however as an alternative cited doubts in regards to the asset’s long-term sturdiness.
Wood has lower a ten% Bitcoin allocation from Jefferies’ mannequin portfolio and reallocated it evenly to physical gold and gold-mining shares.
The choice was outlined within the newest version of his Greed & Fear publication, the place Wood pointed to the long-term risk posed by advances in quantum computing to Bitcoin’s security and store-of-value thesis.
“The once-distant risk of quantum computing has prompted one of essentially the most intently adopted market strategists to stroll away from Bitcoin,” Bloomberg reported, citing Wood within the publication and highlighting how a theoretical danger is now coming into mainstream portfolio development.
Wood was an early institutional supporter of Bitcoin, first adding the asset to his model portfolio in December 2020 amid pandemic-era stimulus and fears of foreign money debasement.
He later raised the publicity to 10% in 2021. Notably, Bitcoin has since surged by roughly 325% for the reason that preliminary allocation in contrast with gold’s 145% acquire. Notwithstanding, Wood says efficiency is not the purpose.
In his view, quantum computing weakens the argument that Bitcoin can perform as a reliable, multi-decade retailer of worth, significantly for pension-style, long-term traders.
“There is rising concern within the Bitcoin neighborhood that quantum computing may solely be just a few years away relatively than a decade or extra,” Wood wrote.
Indeed, Bitcoin’s safety rests on cryptographic methods that make it virtually not possible for right this moment’s computer systems to derive non-public keys from public ones.
However, cryptographically related quantum computer systems (CRQCs) may collapse that asymmetry. This may permit attackers to reverse-engineer non-public keys in hours or days.
Quantum Risk, Governance, and the Institutional Rethink of Bitcoin
The debate exposes a widening divide between capital allocators and builders. Nic Carter, a associate at Castle Island Ventures, captured this rigidity in a December put up.
Nevertheless, governance is on the coronary heart of the problem. Proposed options, together with burning quantum-vulnerable cash or forcing a migration to post-quantum cryptography, elevate uncomfortable questions on property rights and rule adjustments.
Jefferies famous that whereas Bitcoin has undergone forks earlier than, confiscating or invalidating cash may undermine the very ideas that give the community credibility.
Jefferies additionally highlighted that enormous portion of the Bitcoin provide may very well be weak in a quantum situation. These embody:
- Satoshi-era holdings saved in Pay-to-Public-Key (P2PK) addresses
- Lost cash, and
- Addresses reused throughout a number of transactions
Altogether, that is probably thousands and thousands of BTC.
Recent evaluation from Coinbase has echoed some of those concerns. Coinbase Head of Investment Research David Duong mentioned quantum computing poses long-term dangers past non-public key safety, probably affecting Bitcoin’s financial and safety fashions.
While stressing that present quantum know-how is way from breaking Bitcoin right this moment, Duong warned that round 6.5 million BTC may very well be uncovered to long-range quantum assaults. This makes migration to post-quantum cryptography important, if nonetheless years away.
Meanwhile, Wood notes that the long-term questions raised by quantum computing are solely long-term constructive for gold. This stance hinges on gold’s historical past as a examined hedge free from technological and governance uncertainty.
The transfer marks a broader shift in institutional pondering. Cyber Capital founder and CIO Justin Bons claims Bitcoin may collapse at any time after 2033. However, Bons cites shrinking miner subsidies post-halvenings and low transaction charges.
According to Justin Bons, 51% assaults may develop into worthwhile at a every day price of below $3 million, probably enabling double-spends on exchanges price billions. All these concerns border alongside Bitcoin’s safety.
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Here’s a abstract of extra US crypto information to comply with right this moment:
- BitMine shareholder assembly marks shift from ETH staking proxy: Here’s where Tom Lee’s looking next.
- Why Bitcoin has develop into an element of resistance in Iran’s economic crisis.
- Russell 2000 hits a new all-time high, fueling hopes for an altcoin season in Q1.
- RLUSD hits report high amid Ripple’s institutional push — But XRP is left behind.
- President Trump plans an “emergency power auction”: What it may imply for Bitcoin miners.
- Nearly $3 billion in Bitcoin and Ethereum choices expire as markets test breakout conviction.
Crypto Equities Pre-Market Overview
| Company | Close As of January 15 | Pre-Market Overview |
| Strategy (MSTR) | $170.91 | 172.74 (+1.07%) |
| Coinbase (COIN) | $239.28 | $241.38 (+0.88%) |
| Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY) | $31.99 | $32.21 (+0.69%) |
| MARA Holdings (MARA) | $10.66 | $10.74 (+0.75%) |
| Riot Platforms (RIOT) | $16.57 | $16.76 (+1.15%) |
| Core Scientific (CORZ) | $18.08 | $18.25 (+0.94%) |
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