Industry executives gathered at LONGITUDE Hong Kong pressed for urgent clarity on Bitcoin’s evolving risk landscape and urged clearer U.S. policy as crypto markets navigate a period of rapid technological change. The gathering, co-hosted by OneBullEx, opened with a candid fireside chat featuring Tron founder Justin Sun, who framed the industry’s priorities around interoperability and preparing for artificial general intelligence (AGI) that many expect within the next few years. Sun argued for a straightforward standard that AGI could use to interface with blockchain systems, a provocative premise that set the tone for a day of debates on risk, regulation, and infrastructure readiness as crypto ecosystems scale toward broader adoption.

The day’s program moved into three panels exploring quantum computing’s potential threat to Bitcoin, the implications of the U.S. CLARITY Act for the crypto sector, and what it will take for crypto infrastructure to handle future, larger inflows. Despite a volatile backdrop for the asset class at year-end 2025, participants conveyed cautious optimism about the industry’s trajectory, balancing risk with a growing focus on regulatory clarity and technical resilience.

Key takeaways

Quantum risk emerges as a mainstream concern among practitioners, with some panelists advising market participants to discount Bitcoin’s current value until a practical quantum-resistant path is established.
Views diverge on timing and methods: one set of speakers urged aggressive preparation for quantum threats, while others described a gradual upgrade-and-extend approach to Bitcoin’s security posture.
The U.S. CLARITY Act is framed as a potential turning point for crypto policy, with regulators moving toward closer coordination and a clearer regulatory horizon, even as the bill’s passage remained uncertain.
Global regulatory dynamics are evolving, including comparative appeals of Dubai’s crypto-friendly regime as U.S. policymakers debate how to achieve similar clarity in a timely fashion.
Infrastructure readiness for trillion-dollar institutional flows remains a work in progress, with concerns about scalability, resiliency, and user experience highlighted as the chief bottlenecks to mass adoption.
The conference signaled ongoing appetite for dialogue, with LONGITUDE expanding to major global hubs in 2026 to continue evaluating policy, tech, and capital flows in crypto markets.

Tickers mentioned:

Sentiment: Bullish

Market context: The discussions underscore a broader push in crypto markets toward regulatory clarity and scalable infrastructure, set against a backdrop of ongoing institutional interest and macro-driven risk sentiment.

Why it matters

The LONGITUDE forum gathered a cross-section of industry leaders who framed the current moment as a critical inflection point for crypto resilience. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) sits at the center of a debate about future-security guarantees as quantum computing advances threaten to upend conventional cryptographic assumptions. Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments, argued that the risk posed by quantum computing should be reflected in pricing until robust, quantum-resistant mechanisms are universally adopted. His point reflected a broader tension in the market between potential security upgrades and the price implications of anticipated, technology-driven disruptions.

Several speakers urged a pragmatic, staged approach to quantum safety. While acknowledging the existential nature of the threat, Maelstrom’s Akshat Vaidya cautioned that a coordinated, proportionate response would unfold in steps rather than through abrupt, all-at-once changes. The forum’s sentiment ranged from cautious defensiveness to measured confidence that the industry can weather the transition if coordinated standards and timely disclosures align with technical progress.

The regulatory dimension was another central thread. Attendees highlighted the U.S. CLARITY Act as a potential catalyst for clearer, more consistent oversight, even as the bill’s fate remained under consideration. David Sacks, the White House crypto and AI advisor, signaled that broad regulatory clarity is closer than ever, a view reinforced by a panel that included Grayscale’s Craig Salm and other industry figures who depicted regulators as moving toward constructive collaboration. The conversation extended beyond the United States: Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority was cited by Sean McHugh as a case study in a more centralized, predictable regulatory environment that could attract global crypto activity if similar clarity emerges back home.

Beyond policy, infrastructure readiness loomed large. A.J. Warner of Offchain Labs and Joanita Titan of Monad Foundation emphasized that the network layer must evolve to support large-scale, cross-border, institution-grade use cases. The consensus was clear: billion-dollar payment rails are feasible today, but trillions of dollars in daily transaction value would demand substantial improvements in scalability, fault tolerance, and user-centric design. The discussion reflected a broader market trend: a growing demand for reliable, compliant, and scalable infrastructure to support a broader, more diverse ecosystem of participants, from retail investors to major financial institutions.

As the afternoon sessions closed, organizers signaled that LONGITUDE would continue to explore these themes across 2026, with planned events in New York, Paris, Dubai, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi. The message was consistent: regulatory clarity and technical resilience are not optional accessories but prerequisites for crypto to transition from niche innovation to mainstream infrastructure.

What to watch next

Progress on U.S. CLARITY Act: tracking committee votes, amendments, and eventual passage or rejection.
Regulatory coordination updates: how the SEC and CFTC align on jurisdiction and enforcement to provide clearer guidance for market participants.
Quantum-resilience milestones: developments in cryptographic standards and potential industry-wide upgrades to wallets and blockchains.
Infrastructure pilots for large-scale flows: announcements around cross-chain bridges, settlement rails, and institutional-grade custody solutions.
Upcoming LONGITUDE editions: performance and policy takeaways from the 2026 events in the planned cities.

Sources & verification

Official statements and remarks from LONGITUDE conference panels, including participants Charles Edwards, Matthew Roszak, and Akshat Vaidya, on quantum computing and Bitcoin.
Discussions around the U.S. CLARITY Act and its potential impact on crypto regulation, featuring David Sacks and Grayscale representatives.
Commentary by Sean McHugh of the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority on regulatory environments in the United States versus Dubai.
Industry perspectives on crypto infrastructure readiness from A.J. Warner (Offchain Labs) and Joanita Titan (Monad Foundation).

Quantum risk, regulation, and the path to institutional-grade crypto infrastructure

The LONGITUDE conference in Hong Kong underscored a broad consensus: policy clarity and technical resilience are essential for crypto to mature. In a landscape where AGI could intersect with blockchain protocols in ways that blur lines between computation and value transfer, industry leaders argued for practical standards that would enable AI-enabled systems to interact with decentralized ledgers without compromising security or user trust. Justin Sun’s opening remarks framed the discussion as one of interoperability and forward planning—a reminder that the immediate policy environment will shape the pace at which public and private actors push the envelope on what crypto can become.

Bitcoin, often described as the backbone of the space, is at the center of a contentious debate about future security in a quantum-enabled world. A key point from Charles Edwards was that quantum threats should not be ignored or deferred; rather, their potential impact should be priced in as long as no widely accepted quantum-resistant paradigm has gained practical traction. He suggested that investors need to acknowledge a non-zero risk that could influence equity-like pricing dynamics for the flagship asset until robust defenses are in place. The discussion did not rest on fear, however. Matthew Roszak offered a more tempered view, framing the challenge as a multistep process—an “upgrade and chill” trajectory—that would unfold as communities converge on technically sound, phased upgrades.

“To look at this as a movie trailer and what’s ahead for Bitcoin and quantum. Just the preview here. It’s a two-step process. We’re going to upgrade and chill. That’s it. That’s the process.”

Yet even as optimism persisted about crypto’s long-term trajectory, Akshat Vaidya acknowledged an existential risk narrative. He asserted that the industry would respond in a coordinated, proportionate manner, leveraging collaborations across developers, infrastructure providers, and regulators to reflect the evolving risk profile while continuing to pursue innovation. The juxtaposition of risk and resilience framed a pragmatic path forward: manage the immediate security concerns, invest in scalable infrastructure, and maintain a posture that can absorb a multi-year transition as quantum-ready solutions emerge.

Regulatory clarity emerged as a parallel driver of confidence. The CLARITY Act, while not yet law, was described as moving the industry closer to a predictable framework that could guide product development, exchange listings, and institutional participation. Panelists stressed that cooperation between the SEC and CFTC—previously characterized as a turf war—has begun to yield a more interoperable oversight environment. The point was made that a more collaborative stance would reduce duplication of effort and accelerate practical compliance, a development that would lower barrier to entry for credible players and reduce regulatory risk for operators who meet defined standards.

Outside the United States, perspectives on regulation highlighted how different jurisdictions approach clarity and enforcement. Dubai’s relatively forward-leaning stance was cited as a compelling case study for how a crypto ecosystem can attract talent and capital when rules are explicit and consistently enforced. That contrast underscored a broader global trend: investors and builders are weighing regulatory clarity as a core criterion for deployment and scale, even as technological hurdles—such as network throughput and user experience—remain pressing concerns.

The final takeaway from LONGITUDE was simple but powerful: the crypto industry is in a phase where policy, technology, and market demand must converge to enable genuine, institutional-grade adoption. The conversations around quantum risk, regulatory trajectories, and infrastructural readiness are not academic exercises but practical signals about what it will take to move from pilot programs to global rails. As the organizers signaled, the dialogue will continue in 2026 across multiple global hubs, reinforcing that the real work of maturing crypto markets happens through ongoing collaboration among developers, policymakers, and capital allocators.

This article was originally published as Bitcoin’s 2-Step Quantum Plan & US Crypto Policy — Longitude Recap on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

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Filed under: News - @ February 19, 2026 3:26 am