How does Google’s Willow quantum chip threaten cryptocurrencies?

Remember that recent market correction? We broke down the reasons and analysts’ forecasts. Well, one of the triggers for the crypto crash was the hype around the capabilities of the new Willow chip by Google. How is this related to cryptocurrency? Directly. The latest quantum processor can perform calculations in 5 minutes that would take the most powerful supercomputers 10 septillion years (that’s a 1 with 49 zeros after it).

This breakthrough raises an important question: could quantum computing threaten Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? Willow has shown error reduction with the addition of qubits in a 7×7 array, and is capable of performing tasks that are even unreachable for classical supercomputers over the entire lifetime of the universe. The danger lies in the fact that all cryptocurrencies are based on elliptical cryptography (ECC), which protects data by the computational complexity of solving certain mathematical problems.

In theory, quantum computers could potentially use Shor’s algorithmA quantum algorithm that can very quickly factor large numbers into primes. to solve these problems much faster. However, to break ECC you would need a quantum computer with at least 1.5 million logical qubits. The Willow chip only has 105 qubits, and that’s far from the required level. It will take decades before a chip dangerous to cryptographic encryption actually appears.

Although the quantum threat to Bitcoin is far off, the crypto community is already developing protective strategies. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the USA is developing standards to protect digital assets from quantum attacks. Bitcoin developers are exploring the possibility of transitioning to quantum-resistant algorithms. About research on protection from quantum attacks through the study of quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms was also discussed by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

Some coins, including 1 million BTC supposedly belonging to Satoshi Nakamoto, are stored in a form that exposes public keys. This early version of storage is more vulnerable to quantum attacks. Researchers suggest freezing the coins or completely abandoning such transactions.

Source: Protos, FXstreet, Bitcoinist