Blockstream CEO Adam Back says Bitcoin’s current demand levels are nearly sufficient on their own to drive the price to $1 million, and he believes the recent low around $60,000 was “probably” the bottom.
Quantum threat still decades away
Despite growing fears on social media, Back told Cointelegraph at Paris Blockchain Week that quantum computing is unlikely to break Bitcoin anytime soon:
“I think it’s probably still a couple of decades out, but it really depends on how the research progresses.”
He described the current state of quantum hardware as still at the “lab experiment stage,” with researchers testing different qubit architectures and error correction methods:
“The thing to watch for is a repeatable architecture where they start to be able to scale it. So that hasn’t happened to date.”
Back isn’t dismissing the risk entirely — Blockstream employs post-quantum blockchain researchers, and he says the “safe thing” is to prepare upgrade mechanisms that can become quantum-ready over time.
He was also unbothered by BlackRock flagging quantum risks to its Bitcoin ETF investors, saying the asset manager is ultimately aligned with a higher bitcoin price since it drives more buyers and increases their AUM:
“If the price is ten times higher, they make ten times as much money. So I think they would be interested in that.”
Satoshi rumors resurface
The New York Times reignited speculation on April 8 that Back could be Satoshi Nakamoto, a theory that has circulated for years given that Satoshi cited Back’s Hashcash — developed in 1997 — in the Bitcoin whitepaper as the basis for proof-of-work mining.
Back acknowledged the renewed attention is “not ideal” but said his approach is simply to roll with it.
$1 million without institutions
On price, Back pointed to the previous halving cycle as evidence that Bitcoin’s path is rarely straightforward, noting it produced three separate tops — at $64,000, $69,000, and $73,500 — before the bear period.
He argued that the game-changing catalyst many holders are waiting for may not be necessary:
“Just the market dynamic could do it with the current demand almost. I think this past halving period so far, in my view, could have done that just from the new retail interests and new ETFs, even without the institutions.”
US spot Bitcoin ETF inflows have remained positive this year, and Back cited that as a key demand driver alongside repeat buyers at current price levels.
His outlook is notably more bullish than veteran trader Peter Brandt, who recently said Bitcoin will not reach $1 million by 2030, though Brandt believes it will eventually get there.
