Jefferies strategist: Removed Bitcoin from the portfolio due to concerns over quantum computing risks

Jefferies strategist Christopher Wood stated in his latest "Greed & Fear" market newsletter that he has completely removed Bitcoin from his flagship model portfolio due to growing concerns that advancements in quantum computing could undermine the long-term security of cryptocurrencies. The 10% Bitcoin allocation he initially added at the end of 2020 has been replaced by a combination of physical gold and gold mining stocks.

Christopher Wood further added that breakthroughs in quantum computing would weaken Bitcoin's reliability as a store of value for pension-style investors. If the timeline for the realization of quantum technology shortens, some capital allocators may now question Bitcoin's value storage properties, and the risks associated with cryptography might emerge sooner than expected, allowing attackers to derive private keys from exposed public keys, thereby undermining the cryptographic technology that supports Bitcoin balances and mining rewards, and challenging its role as "digital gold" in pension-style portfolios.