Andrew Bailey warns that unilateral US action cannot contain AI risks, as blockchain networks race to fortify cryptographic defenses before quantum computers arrive
Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, argued that the US, including the current Trump administration’s AI ambitions, lacks the reach to unilaterally manage the threats that advanced AI systems are generating at a global scale.
Bailey has been vocal throughout 2026 about AI’s intersection with crypto and stablecoin discussions, and his broader concern maps directly onto a technical problem the blockchain world is already wrestling with: quantum computing. AI is actively accelerating the timeline for when quantum computers become capable of breaking the cryptographic foundations that secure Bitcoin, Ethereum, and virtually every other major blockchain.
The quantum problem, compressed by AI #
In March 2026, a Google Quantum AI paper indicated that breaking 256-bit elliptic curve cryptography, the standard that secures most blockchain transactions, may now require only around 1,200 logical qubits. Previous estimates placed that threshold dramatically higher, meaning the timeline to a credible quantum attack just collapsed significantly.
Experts flagged as recently as May 25, 2026, that this compression is real and consequential. Networks that assumed they had a decade to adapt may be looking at something closer to three years.
Who is preparing, and who is exposed #
Ethereum, XRP, Solana, Zcash, and NEAR are each developing post-quantum migration strategies, with completion targets clustering around 2028 to 2029.
In June 2026, the White House issued executive actions aimed at advancing AI initiatives while simultaneously building in safeguards against cryptographic vulnerabilities.
Bitcoin’s conservative upgrade process means any cryptographic transition would move more slowly and require broader consensus than more flexible networks, presenting a genuine coordination challenge at a moment when the clock is moving faster than expected.
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