President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Monday directing a push to build a powerful quantum computer for scientific research and accelerate efforts to protect government systems from quantum-enabled cyber threats.
The orders are part of a broader race with China over a technology that could reshape artificial intelligence, materials science, and cybersecurity.
Building a quantum computer by 2028
Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said the administration believes a powerful quantum computer can be built by 2028.
Quantum computers use the laws of quantum physics to solve certain complex problems far faster than today’s supercomputers.
They could also unscramble the encryption that currently protects computer systems from hacking, raising fears of devastating cyberattacks.
This carries direct implications for Bitcoin, whose security relies on cryptographic algorithms that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could theoretically compromise.
Protecting government systems
One of the orders sets a goal of migrating key government computing systems to post-quantum cryptography by 2030 or 2031.
The order also calls for the Pentagon to deploy quantum sensors by 2028, which could help aircraft navigate in GPS-denied war zones and detect underground activity like tunnel or missile silo construction from space.
Matthew Kinsella, CEO of Infleqtion, who attended the signing in the Oval Office, said:
“There’s lots of interesting things quantum sensing can bring before quantum computing. It’s possible to meet these types of timelines.”
Funding and international cooperation
Last month, the Commerce Department announced $2 billion in equity stakes across nine quantum-computing companies, including a new IBM venture.
The orders also aim to strengthen international cooperation on intellectual property protections and supply chain security.
Agencies have been instructed to develop plans for deploying quantum-enabled sensors and networks within five years.
