IBM just put a number on its quantum ambitions, and it’s a big one. The company disclosed plans to invest over $10 billion in quantum computing research and development over the next five years, with the goal of delivering a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029.

The announcement, made via an SEC filing on May 28, sent IBM shares up roughly 1.5% in premarket trading.

What IBM is actually building

The company’s flagship quantum system, codenamed Starling, is designed to perform 100 million quantum operations using 200 error-corrected qubits.

IBM isn’t starting from scratch here. The company has already deployed more than 90 quantum systems and built an ecosystem of over 325 partners. Its roadmap also includes a 120-qubit Nighthawk processor, part of the incremental stepping stones toward Starling’s more ambitious architecture.

The investment is also strategically linked to US government funding. The Department of Commerce has proposed $2 billion in quantum research funding through the CHIPS Act initiative, with $1 billion of that earmarked specifically for IBM’s quantum foundry.

Why crypto should be paying attention

Bitcoin and most major cryptocurrencies rely on elliptic-curve cryptography (ECC) to secure wallets and validate transactions. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could theoretically break ECC by solving the underlying mathematical problems that make it secure. Breaking Bitcoin’s cryptographic scheme would likely require thousands, possibly millions, of logical qubits operating with extremely low error rates. IBM’s Starling system, even if delivered on schedule, wouldn’t clear that bar.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has already been standardizing post-quantum cryptographic algorithms, and blockchain projects that adopt these standards early may gain a competitive edge.