Preparation is important because quantum computing poses a real long-term risk to the cryptography that underpins modern finance. Banks are particularly vulnerable to “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks, which the Bank for International Settlements’ Project Leap has flagged as an immediate threat to the financial system.
Harvest now, decrypt later means malicious entities could store encrypted banking data today, waiting for quantum hardware to catch up. Blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum face the same risk, which could expose modern finance to long-term security risk.
Although there are no practical, large-scale quantum machines capable of breaking the security of banks and blockchains such as Bitcoin today, estimates of when this risk could become real start as early as 2029.
The HKMA is targeting a quantum readiness index of perfect 10 by 2030. To achieve this, the regulator is deploying practical tools: a post-quantum cryptography toolkit being developed with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology’s business school, as well as a series of workshops to help banks develop their skills, improve their crypto agility, and explore quantum opportunities responsibly.
It’s not alone. President Donald Trump recently signed two executive orders. One aims to accelerate the development of quantum computing in the United States, with the goal of producing a machine powerful enough for scientific research by 2028. The other calls for the federal government to migrate to post-quantum cryptography by 2030-31.
