Trump releases cybercrime strategy to protect crypto in a post-quantum world

US President Donald Trump wants to support the security of cryptocurrencies — including in a post-quantum world.

President Trump released the “National Cyber Strategy” on Friday, telling Americans he would make sure the US remains “unrivaled in cyberspace.”

“Every American should take practical steps to protect themselves and their families in cyberspace, but America’s citizens do not stand alone,” the document from the White House reads.

“President Trump has demonstrated time and again that he is determined to make Americans secure and prosperous by harnessing all of our comparative advantages.”

The strategy comes as the biggest players in the crypto industry argue about whether major protocols like Bitcoin should prepare for a time when quantum computers can crack their security.

Post-quantum world soon?

The White House document says that the Trump Administration will “build secure technologies and supply chains that protect user privacy from design to deployment, including supporting the security of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.”

“We will promote the adoption of post-quantum cryptography and secure quantum computing,” it adds.

Quantum researchers have warned that a time will come when Bitcoin’s software — which underpins the biggest and strongest computer network in the world — will need to be upgraded to deal with quantum computing.

Quantum computers may still be theoretical, but some have argued that their development could arrive unexpectedly — just like advances with artificial intelligence.

Some in the crypto industry, like Bitcoin treasury Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor, have said that while developers should prepare, the warnings as overblown.

But the community behind Ethereum, the protocol behind the second biggest cryptocurrency by market value, is already pushing ahead: the project’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, in February proposed a “quantum roadmap” to protect the blockchain from encryption-cracking computers.

Pro-crypto executive orders

The strategy came just as Trump signed an executive order Friday to combat cybercrime.

Trump, who campaigned on a ticket to help the digital asset industry, has signed a number of executive orders with the crypto space in mind.

Last year, the president signed an executive order to establish a Bitcoin strategic reserve.

The US government is not buying more Bitcoin — at least for now — and the reserve contains crypto confiscated mostly from crimes.

And in one of the first actions since taking office, Trump signed an order demanding a sweeping major overhaul of crypto policy — including the banning of central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs.

Mathew Di Salvo is a news correspondent with DL News. Got a tip? Email at mdisalvo@dlnews.com.