Quantum computing could disrupt Trump’s intended cryptocurrency presidency

• Many of the world’s secrets, from individual finances to national security, rely on cryptography.
• Major advances in quantum computing require new security measures, researchers told BI.
• Quantum computers could end encryption as we know it and risk geopolitical instability.

As Donald Trump prepares to take office, he is leaning into his self-appointed nickname of “Head encoder“, its own launch Official meme coin And work on potential Bitcoin Federal Reserve.

Cryptocurrency holdings are widely considered to be very safe because blockchain It is traded. The high value of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, each worth more than $100,000 at press time, could serve as a hedge against inflation or pay down the national debt.

Recent developments in quantum computing could undermine this security – And much more – two high-tech researchers explained to Business Insider.

“What we’re talking about is the potential for a hack, not just in individual cryptocurrencies, but in our larger financial markets,” said Arthur Herman, director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative at the Hudson Institute.

Quantum computing It is a rapidly developing technology that combines the disciplines of computer science, mathematics, and quantum mechanics to solve more complex problems more quickly than is possible through classical computing.

Where classical computing uses binary numbers – 0 and 1, called bits – to represent information, quantum computing relies on the quantum equivalent of bits, called qubits, which are represented by the superposition of multiple states, such as 0, 1, or a combination of both.

Qubits themselves are unstable, and their behavior is difficult to predict. They behave differently when monitored, making their condition difficult to measure, and require specific conditions such as low light or extremely cold environments to replicate results reliably and without error. Errors become particularly evident, and qubit behavior becomes less reliable, when scaling computing power with additional qubits, making progress in this area slow.

The ability of a qubit to exist in multiple states at the same time, such as a coin that spins and appears on it at the same time. It allows quantum computers to quickly calculate equations with multiple solutions and perform advanced calculations that would be impossible for classical computers.

Researchers in the field agree that previously unsolvable calculations could help discover new drugs, develop new chemical compounds, break our current encryption methods, and reverse blockchain pseudonymity.

Supercomputers: 10 septillion years behind

last month, Google has unveiled Willowits new quantum chip, which represents a major advance in commercial quantum computing. The company says Willow can perform a standard arithmetic, an industry-accepted calculation used to measure the performance of quantum computers, in less than five minutes — a task that would take today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years to complete. That is, 10 followed by 24 zeros, a time frame that exceeds the age of the universe.

Willow also solves the challenge of correcting errors in the behavior of qubits as computing power increases, which has plagued the industry for 30 years. Other private companies, such as IBM and Microsoft, allies such as France, and adversaries such as Russia and China, are also developing this technology.

Karl Holmqvist has worked as a quantum security advisor to major government bodies, including the Ministry of Defense and NATO. He is the CEO of Lastwall, which provides cybersecurity solutions designed to protect users from quantum computing threats. Holmqvist said that while the timeframe for creating a fully functioning large quantum computer — compared to medium-sized versions that still aren’t reliable with the behavior of the qubits we have now — remains unclear, the things such a device will be able to do when the technology becomes more stable are She started to focus.

“What’s really concerning is that right now, when we store personal information, we encrypt that data, and we often encrypt it with systems that use public-key cryptography — and that’s what quantum computers might actually be able to break,” Holmqvist said. “So we have to think about all the databases and all the systems that have records of what we do, and there’s a privacy issue.”

It’s not just the privacy of basic data or the risk of publishing personal financial details. Encrypted data, from national security secrets to blockchain and beyond, will be readily accessible and, most worryingly, anyone with a system capable of handling quantum data.

“When you start peeling back the layers, it’s like anything that’s connected to the Internet is probably going to have problems,” Holmqvist said. “Often, we trust that the links between systems are secure and that the data moving between them is secure, and there is no way to access that which has been encrypted. If you remove that default assumption, it allows there to be so many new entry points into systems that it becomes worrying.” “Very much.”

Hermann, director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative, told BI that a hack from a quantum computer would be “completely stealthy” given a quantum machine’s potential ability to unravel encryption and operate within computer systems without leaving a trace, meaning a bad actor could cause “catastrophic” damage without To be discovered.

“It’s not like with a traditional hacker, where they break into one system, one bank or one cryptocurrency exchange, and then when they’re done with one system, they have to move on to the next system,” Herman said. “Once you hack one system, you’ve hacked all the systems, and you can help yourself, almost instantly, to any assets or money you want.”

Hermann said the race to achieve reliable quantum computing mirrors the nuclear arms race, but officials are not taking the risk as seriously as he believes.

“From the standpoint of where we stand in our competition with Russia and especially China, the race to a quantum computer should be one of the key factors and threats that we want to be able to deter,” Hermann said. “But it’s also a challenge we want to overcome and be the first to have a quantum computer because, in the end, that’s going to be the real deterrent to this kind of threat: if you try to do that to us, then we can do it with a more devastating effect on you.”