Quantum Computing and Financial Markets

Financial markets are exposed to quantum computing in two different ways. In the long term, quantum technologies may become useful for selected financial workloads, including risk modelling, portfolio optimisation, derivatives pricing, Monte Carlo simulation, stress testing and financial crime analytics. In the short term, however, the more urgent issue is not computational advantage but cryptographic resilience. Banks, insurers, asset managers, custodians, payment systems and financial market infrastructures rely on public-key cryptography to protect data, transactions, identity, digital signatures, software integrity and market communication. If future quantum computers weaken today’s cryptographic foundations, the financial sector will face a structural security problem before it receives a mature computational benefit.