Analyst: Bitcoin's quantum attack may have harmful spillover effects on traditional financial markets

Odaily Odaily News This month, Google claimed that its new Willow quantum computing chip had made a breakthrough, and the emerging technology has attracted people's attention. Hackers may one day crack the encryption technology that protects the security of Bitcoin. Such a hacking attack could destroy the price of Bitcoin because thieves can steal Bitcoin from digital wallets that are supposed to be secure. Researchers say that a quantum device powerful enough to crack Bitcoin may take a decade or more to appear. Still, the progress of this technology brings long-term risks unless Bitcoin's developer community strengthens its technology in time-consuming upgrades. Analysts warn that quantum attacks on Bitcoin could have harmful spillover effects on traditional financial markets. "If someone gains the ability to develop quantum computer hackers and decides to use this ability to attack cryptocurrencies, what you have now is a time bomb waiting to explode," said Arthur Herman, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. (WSJ)