Bitcoin has a deadline problem, and Muneeb Ali wants everyone to start counting.
Speaking at Token2049 Singapore on October 8, 2026, the Stacks co-founder said Bitcoin has roughly two years to upgrade, then about two more years to move coins before quantum computing risks intensify.
The four-year clock
Ali’s keynote split the problem into two phases.
Phase one is the upgrade itself: getting quantum-resistant signatures into Bitcoin. He put that window at approximately two years.
Phase two is migration. Once the tools exist, holders still have to move their coins into addresses protected by the new signature schemes. Ali allotted about two additional years for that step.
The timeline lines up with guidance from NIST, the US standards body. That guidance calls for phasing out vulnerable signature schemes such as ECDSA after 2030, with full retirement by 2035. ECDSA is the cryptography that currently proves Bitcoin owners control their coins.
The capacity catch
Swapping in quantum-safe signatures carries a cost.
Ali warned that adopting them could cut Bitcoin’s effective transaction capacity to roughly 10% of its current levels. The research behind the keynote describes this as pushing activity off-chain. Bitcoin’s base layer would remain the settlement anchor, while everyday transactions migrate to systems built on top.
Ali positioned Stacks as a post-quantum layer that sits on top of Bitcoin’s base settlement.
Stacks’ roadmap and the CEO return
The keynote doubled as a preview of what Stacks Labs plans to build next.
The company’s roadmap rests on three pillars: Bitcoin capital markets, institutional privacy, and post-quantum security. Stacks Labs is pursuing a two-year plan centered on privacy and post-quantum technology, with a stated goal of a 100x increase in network capacity.
Ali is set to formally return as CEO of Stacks Labs on October 15, 2026, a week after the Singapore keynote.
In September 2026, Stacks launched Genesis Bond, a self-custodial Bitcoin staking product. Self-custodial means users keep control of their own keys rather than handing coins to a third party.
Separately, Stacks deployed 500 BTC in a program called Bitcoin Bond 2, which locked 45 million STX, the network’s native token, for Bitcoin staking.
Token2049 Singapore drew approximately 25,000 attendees.
What this means
For Bitcoin holders, the most practical takeaway is the migration phase. If Ali’s timeline holds, users would eventually need to move coins into quantum-resistant addresses. Coins that never move could stay exposed under older signature schemes.
For the broader network, the 10% capacity figure is the number to watch. A sharp drop in base-layer throughput would reshape fee dynamics and push more activity onto secondary systems.
Ali takes the CEO role on October 15, 2026, and the roadmap runs two years. That is roughly the same window he says Bitcoin itself has to upgrade, so Stacks will be building its post-quantum layer while the base chain decides whether, and how, to change underneath it.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.