Trump Signs Orders to Build Quantum Computer and Protect Against Its Threat

US President Trump has signed two executive orders aimed at building a quantum computer and protecting against the potential threat it poses to encryption. The twin orders, issued on June 23, 2026, are part of an effort to accelerate the development of large-scale quantum computers while also hardening federal systems against quantum-enabled attacks.

The first order, Executive Order 14411, calls for the production of a large-scale quantum computer through an initiative called QC-ADDS. The goal is to deliver at least one such machine to a Department of Energy facility and make it available to the scientific community.

The second order, Executive Order 14409, focuses on protecting against the potential threat posed by a powerful quantum computer. It notes that adversaries may already be collecting encrypted U.S. data, which could be decrypted in future with the help of a quantum computer. To mitigate this risk, federal agencies are required to migrate their most sensitive systems to post-quantum cryptography for key establishment by the end of 2030 and for digital signatures by the end of 2031.

The development of quantum computers has raised concerns about the potential for them to break current encryption methods. A study published earlier this year estimated that a sufficiently powerful machine could crack Bitcoin's blockchain with significantly less firepower than previously expected.