Moon Pursuit Capital founder says crypto VCs will prioritize quantum-ready infrastructure before a working quantum computer arrives, citing years-long blockchain upgrade timelines.
Moon Pursuit Capital founder Utkarsh Ahuja said crypto venture investors will prioritize quantum-ready infrastructure heading into 2027, arguing that the years-long process of upgrading blockchains makes preparation urgent before a working quantum computer arrives.
Ahuja spoke as KPMG's latest Venture Pulse report showed global venture funding hit $227.4 billion across 8,440 deals in the second quarter, the second-highest quarterly total on record. OpenAI and Anthropic drove much of the volume. U.S. companies collected $144.9 billion, or nearly 64% of the global sum.
Within quantum computing, investment slowed from 2025's record pace but remained active. Netherlands-based QuantWare raised $178 million. Germany's eleQtron secured $66 million. Quantinuum listed on Nasdaq, raising $1.6 billion at a $17.6 billion valuation.
No one can reliably predict when quantum hardware will break the cryptography used to secure digital assets, Ahuja told crypto.news. The uncertain timetable does not remove the investment case, he said, because upgrading blockchains, moving billions of dollars in assets, changing wallet infrastructure, and coordinating users across a decentralized network could take several years.
"If upgrading a blockchain, moving billions of dollars in assets, changing wallet infrastructure, and coordinating users across a decentralized network could take years, then quantum readiness becomes relevant well before the technology reaches that threshold," Ahuja said.
He expects more venture funding to flow toward post-quantum security, cryptographic migration, and infrastructure designed to accept future security upgrades. When assessing companies, Moon Pursuit examines how easily products can adapt when cryptographic requirements change, he said. Resilience depends partly on whether a network or security provider can move users and assets to new systems without causing extensive disruption. That migration work carries particular weight for public blockchains, where developers cannot order every wallet owner, custodian, and validator to upgrade at the same time.
Moon Pursuit co-led AmericanFortress' $8 million seed round alongside SAVA Digital Asset Fund and 0G Labs. AmericanFortress has developed a proposed security system for existing blockchain wallets and filed a patent covering quantum-resistant transaction signing. The system, known as ZK-PoSP, would allow wallets to prove control of their original seed without exposing it. The design covers addresses on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana without requiring holders to move funds or rotate keys.
Ahuja said the investment was based partly on the product's planned compatibility with infrastructure already used by crypto networks. The apparent simplicity of the migration process could hide the complexity of the underlying work, he added. Moon Pursuit considered the company's intellectual property and patent development when assessing whether its technology could be easily copied.
AmericanFortress' design remains a proposal and would require node-level upgrades before a blockchain could enforce it. The technical paper describes its post-quantum protection as conjectural rather than proven against a working quantum attack.
Instead of betting on a precise date for a major quantum breakthrough, Ahuja said venture firms should determine whether a company is solving a problem that already produces commercial demand. Security, cryptography, and infrastructure provide possible markets, companies still need an adoption plan that does not depend entirely on rapid progress in quantum hardware, he said.
"Separating scientific progress from an investable business model is going to be increasingly important," Ahuja said.
Standard Timelines and Migration Planning
The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology finalized its first three post-quantum cryptography standards in August 2024. NIST encouraged system administrators to begin adopting the standards immediately rather than wait for a quantum computer capable of breaking current encryption. NIST's timetable calls for quantum-vulnerable algorithms to be deprecated by 2030 and removed from its standards by 2035, with high-risk systems expected to move earlier. The deadline applies to federal cryptographic standards rather than imposing a direct upgrade requirement on decentralized blockchain networks.
Institutional Bitcoin companies have also committed funding to the issue. In July, Strategy, BlackRock, Coinbase, and six other companies created a Bitcoin security consortium whose members pledged a combined $15 million over three years. Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, Block, Blockstream, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Galaxy joined the group. Members will choose which developers, researchers, and organizations receive their funding. The consortium will not direct Bitcoin development or support a specific protocol change.
Ethereum developers have taken a separate route through network research and testing. Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake said on Aug. 13 that Ethereum's future layer-1 design will move away from the Poseidon hash function and use established functions such as SHA-2 or BLAKE2s. The change followed advances in proof systems that made traditional hash functions more practical for zero-knowledge technology. A production version of leanVM is scheduled for 2027, followed by planned protocol deployments in 2028.
At the custody level, BitGo and Silence Laboratories completed a post-quantum signing test in May using BitGo's institutional platform and Silence Laboratories' multi-party computation system. The simulation used ML-DSA, a digital signature algorithm included in NIST's FIPS 204 standard, while retaining distributed key control, policy checks, and separate responsibilities across institutional teams.
Crypto VC Landscape in Q1 2026
According to Galaxy Research, venture firms invested about $4 billion across 355 crypto and blockchain deals in the first quarter of 2026. Funding fell 50% from the previous quarter, while the deal count declined 16%, mainly because the quarter had fewer large later-stage financings. Trading, exchanges, investing, and lending companies collected approximately $2.6 billion, or close to three-fifths of the quarterly total. Infrastructure ranked second by deal count with 56 transactions, while privacy and security companies completed 22 deals.
Fundraising for crypto-focused venture firms remained difficult. Eight new funds raised about $1.1 billion during Q1, the lowest quarterly fund count since Q3 2020, according to Galaxy. The research firm said AI, spot crypto exchange-traded products, and digital asset treasury companies were also competing for institutional allocations. U.S. startups received 70.2% of all crypto VC capital and accounted for 43.5% of completed deals during the quarter. The median crypto investment exceeded $4.5 million, available valuation data covered only 12% of the deals and leaned toward later-stage companies.
For Ahuja, investment categories once treated separately are starting to overlap as crypto companies use technology developed in AI, cybersecurity, and quantum research. Protocols and applications will continue to receive funding, he said, more capital will reach the underlying systems required for institutions to use digital assets securely. Quantum protection fits within that category because companies can sell preparation and migration tools before quantum hardware reaches the level required to attack blockchains.
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