By 2050, Einstein, Elon Musk, and Uncle Sam may have ruined cryptocurrency

<p>What happens if whales are equipped with quantum computers?</p> <p>The cryptocurrency world is a one-of-a-kind financial wonderland where timing is critical and nothing is certain. When you believe you've got a handle on the market, a billionaire tweets a meme and you're pushed towards one of the margins.</p> <p>While enthusiasts of rollercoasters and thrill rides may enjoy the experience, investors seeking an escape from the oppression of centralised currency and banking may wish for a less volatile future.</p> <p>Regrettably, the path forwards is not straightforward. Decentralised digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum appear to make perfect sense on paper.</p> <p>If I own a dollar's worth of Bitcoin and the US government decides to deport me and declare my citizenship null and void, I retain that dollar's worth of Bitcoin. However, every penny of fiat currency I currently hold in US markets, banks, 401Ks, and other investments would be completely wiped out.</p> <p>In a truly decentralised financial paradigm, no single government or other cryptocurrency holder should be able to revoke your holdings.</p> <p>However, technology is frequently the only thing preventing government agencies from seizing cryptocurrency. What happens if that circumstance changes?</p> <p>Today, we are assured that our crypto holdings are protected from intrusion, theft, and withholding through the use of literal cryptography. Just as the government is technically unable to read our WhatsApp conversations due to their encryption, it should be unable to access our cryptocurrency holdings.</p> <p>Furthermore, because Bitcoin and similar massive cryptocurrencies are built on decentralised (but well-managed) blockchain platforms, there is little concern that a government will gain a technological advantage sufficient to seize assets. If, for example, China or the United States develops a quantum computer capable of breaking binary cryptography, the Bitcoin platform is large enough to solicit community support for counterm