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BlockBeats News, December 20, Nic Carter, the father of smart contracts and co-founder of Castle Island Ventures, published a long article stating that renowned quantum theorist and scholar Scott Aaronson's research shows that quantum computing is only an "extremely difficult" engineering challenge away from breaking bitcoin, rather than requiring new fundamental discoveries in physics. Nic Carter pointed out that, in theory, bitcoin could undergo a soft fork and adopt a "post-quantum" (PQ) signature scheme. There are indeed some quantum-resistant cryptographic signature schemes available today. However, the main issue lies in determining the specific post-quantum scheme, organizing the soft fork, and the arduous task of migrating tens of millions of addresses with balances. Therefore, the mitigation measures needed for bitcoin to defend against quantum computing attacks may take nearly a decade to implement. In addition, since a large number of vulnerable bitcoins are stored in abandoned addresses, and the owners of these addresses cannot be forced to move their bitcoins, even if bitcoin is upgraded to post-quantum signatures, it still faces the risk of 1.7 million bitcoins being suddenly stolen by quantum attackers. Bitcoin not only needs to be upgraded in an orderly and timely manner, but bitcoin holders must also collectively agree to confiscate these 1.7 million bitcoins to eliminate this risk—a move that is unprecedented in bitcoin's history. As a result, Nic Carter urges and calls on the bitcoin community and developers to take mitigation measures as soon as possible, rather than viewing the threat of quantum computing with indifference and excessive optimism.

7:00-12:00 Keywords: BREV, Arthur Hayes, Cynthia Lummis 1. A certain exchange has added Brevis (BREV) to its listing roadmap; 2. CryptoQuant: Bitcoin demand growth has significantly slowed down, and the market is entering a bear phase; 3. Hassett: US inflation is actually below target, and the Federal Reserve has "ample room" to cut interest rates; 4. A victim lost about $50 million by copying an address from a tainted transaction record; 5. Arthur Hayes: With the Federal Reserve launching a new round of quantitative easing, Bitcoin may return to $124,000; 6. A Brooklyn man has been charged with phishing fraud, stealing $16 million from an exchange user; 7. Galaxy Research released its annual forecast for the crypto market in 2026: stablecoin trading volume may surpass the US ACH system; 8. US Senator Cynthia Lummis: Plans to push for the formal signing of the crypto market structure bill into law during the remainder of her term.

According to Odaily, Bitcoin has failed to hold the key price level of $92,000 over the past month and is currently hovering below $90,000. Some traders believe that the recent decline in Bitcoin's price is due to market manipulation, while others attribute the drop to growing concerns about the artificial intelligence industry. However, analysts believe that one important factor limiting Bitcoin's price increase is the Federal Reserve's reduction of its balance sheet for most of 2025, which is draining liquidity from the financial markets. Although there are clear signs that the Federal Reserve is shifting towards a more accommodative monetary policy, traders are uncertain whether the Fed can lower interest rates below 3.5% by 2026. As investor risk aversion intensifies, it will be difficult for Bitcoin to serve as a hedge in the short term.