Research has found that a quantum computer could break Bitcoin in half

Earlier this month, Google Announce A brand new quantum chip dubbed Willow.

The 105-qubit chip — twice the number of qubits in the tech giant’s previous Sycamore chip — completed a calculation in less than five minutes that would take a modern supercomputer a “mind-boggling” 10 septillion years, the company said.

The news has reignited the debate over the security of blockchain technology, the distributed ledgers that manage digital currencies like Bitcoin. Could a future quantum computer break cryptocurrency encryption, allowing thieves to escape with unfathomable amounts?

like luck ReportsResearchers at the University of Kent found in A The study has not yet been peer-reviewed That danger is very real. In fact, just the downtime required to update a blockchain to protect itself from an encryption-breaking quantum computer could extend to 76 days — and the resulting losses would likely be staggering.

“Disabling your technology can be very costly, even if it runs for a few minutes or a few hours,” said co-author and University of Kent senior lecturer Carlos Pérez Delgado. luck.

“If I had a big quantum computer right now, I could basically capture all of the bitcoin,” he added. “By tomorrow, I can read everyone’s email and access everyone’s computer accounts, and that’s the truth.”

But the seriousness of this threat remains a matter of great debate. In last week’s update, AllianceBernstein analysts argued That Bitcoin contributors should “start preparing for the quantum future.”

However, the analysts wrote that “any practical threat to Bitcoin appears to be decades away.”

Likewise, the researchers argued, it would require quantum computers Millions Of qubits To break Bitcoin encryption in one day.

Analysts have Also found That SHA-256 encryption, which serves as a security measure to protect Bitcoin miners today, could eventually be hacked — albeit using quantum hardware that has yet to be dreamed of.

More broadly, apart from cracking cryptocurrencies, Google’s latest quantum chip is also woefully incapable of doing anything actually useful yet.

“The specific calculation involved is to produce a random distribution,” German physicist and science communication specialist Sabine Hosenfelder said chirp In response to Google’s recent announcement. “The result of this calculation is of no practical use.”

In short, while many agree that quantum computers could pose a growing threat to the cryptography behind Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency community could still have plenty of time to implement changes to protect the blockchain.

Which is easier said than done. like luck He also points out that Bitcoin’s decentralized nature could make pushing a crypto update a massive task.

But that doesn’t mean cryptocurrency shouldn’t do that. in Blog post for OctoberVitalik Buterin, co-founder of prominent cryptocurrency Ethereum, said the advancement of quantum computing technology could have “consequences across Ethereum’s entire roadmap.”

“The undeniable fact that no one can dispute is that when we get there,” Perez Delgado said. luck, “Our existing securities and cybersecurity systems – which include everything from Bitcoin to email – will be at significant risk.”

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