Bitcoin’s Quantum Risk Meets Institutional Demand as Stablecoin and ETF Strategies Shift

Bitcoin’s quantum security debate is starting to matter before quantum computers can threaten the network: uncertainty about its upgrade path may already weigh on institutional confidence. At the same time, stablecoin competition in Europe and new products from Ripple and VanEck show how crypto businesses are adapting to changing market demands.

Bitcoin’s upgrade timeline becomes an investment question

Muneeb Ali, founder of Bitcoin layer 2 project Stacks, says developers need to show meaningful progress toward quantum resistance by 2028. He put completion of the transition around 2030, drawing on guidance from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, while cautioning that advances in artificial intelligence could accelerate the timetable. He discussed the risk on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction podcast.

The schedule matters because Bitcoin upgrades can take years to negotiate and implement. Even after developers settle on a technical approach, holders would need time to move their coins to quantum-resistant addresses. Ali’s concern is that the network has little margin for delay.

The threat’s urgency remains disputed across the industry. But Ali argues that investors don’t need to believe an attack is imminent for the issue to affect decisions. Bitcoin has attracted institutions as a potential hedge against currency debasement, and questions about its long-term security could complicate that case. US spot Bitcoin ETFs hold more than $104 billion in net assets, according to BitBo data. A quantum breakthrough that compromised Bitcoin could also affect confidence across the wider crypto market.

Ripple adds a federally supervised trust bank

Ripple has received final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust bank, clearing the remaining hurdle after conditional approval in December 2025. The approval gives Ripple a federally supervised vehicle for several services tied to digital assets and its RLUSD stablecoin.

Ripple National Trust Bank will manage reserves backing RLUSD, act as collateral trustee for tokenholders and provide digital asset custody. RLUSD itself will continue to be issued by Standard Custody & Trust Company, which is regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services. CEO Brad Garlinghouse welcomed the decision, saying, “crypto and banks work better together.”

Circle received similar final approval in July. Coinbase, Crypto.com and Stripe-owned Bridge remain at the conditional approval stage. National trust banks generally cannot accept deposits or make loans, and they do not carry Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage.

USDC takes the lead in euro stablecoin trading

Circle’s USDC has moved ahead of Tether’s USDt in euro-denominated stablecoin trading, a shift that reflects how European rules are reshaping exchange access. Kaiko reports that USDC now represents 56% of this trading, up from 10% in January 2024. The change accelerated after major exchanges restricted USDt trading for customers in the European Economic Area to comply with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation.

USDC’s euro order books are now about 40% deeper than USDt’s, pointing to stronger liquidity in that market. Yet USDt remains the largest stablecoin globally, with circulating supply roughly 2.5 times that of USDC.

The European Banking Authority has designated USDC the bloc’s first “significant e-money token,” bringing additional oversight. Kaiko says the US GENIUS Act could also influence stablecoin trading, depending on how exchanges apply its requirements.

VanEck packages Bitcoin exposure into a multi-asset ETF

VanEck, an asset manager with $244 billion under management, has launched the actively managed VanEck Wealth Builder ETF (NYSE: WBMO). The fund combines stocks, bonds and real assets, with a target Bitcoin allocation of 2% that can range from 1% to 5%. It accesses Bitcoin through a spot exchange-traded product rather than holding the cryptocurrency directly.

Announced Tuesday, WBMO invests in VanEck and third-party ETFs, extending the firm’s Wealth Builder model portfolios into a single exchange-traded fund. David Schassler, VanEck’s head of multi-asset solutions, said the traditional 60/40 stock-and-bond mix was built for a different investment environment. He argued that real assets can help portfolios address a wider range of conditions, with Bitcoin included as a modest allocation.

Across these developments, crypto’s next phase looks increasingly tied to the plumbing around digital assets: upgrade planning, custody, reserve management and market access. For institutions, those operational details may shape adoption as much as the assets themselves.