Developments in the field of quantum computing have the potential to strengthen the Bitcoin network in the coming decades, despite widespread concerns about the ability of this technology to break cryptographic encryption.
Industry experts have previously expressed concerns that quantum computing could potentially break encryption algorithms in the future, due to the ability to perform computational processes at unprecedented speeds, thanks to advancements in the field of quantum physics.
However, despite these concerns, quantum computing could lead to an even stronger Bitcoin (BTC) network, according to Adam Back, co-founder and CEO of Blockstream, the inventor of Hashcash and one of the most prominent cryptographers in the industry.
The post-quantum (PQ) system is still "decades away," which is why a hash-based PQ system will never be feasible, Adam Back wrote in a post on X on December 21:
"Research on PQ signatures will ultimately produce more conservative, carefully evaluated, and smaller signatures, and Bitcoin could add these as an additional option."
Adam Back discusses Bitcoin and post-quantum signatures. Source: Adam Back
Bitcoin's digital signatures prevent BTC transactions from being altered by third parties, which is an essential part of the network's protection mechanism. When a transaction occurs, individual private keys are used to sign the transfer as a mathematical proof that the Bitcoin belongs to the address owner.
Bitcoin and the future security of the network have attracted increasing attention from investors over the past two weeks, after the cryptocurrency reached a historic milestone by surpassing the $100K USD mark for the first time on December 6.
Does Google's New Quantum Computing Chip Threaten Cryptocurrency Encryption?
Concerns about the potential for quantum computing to disrupt cryptocurrency transactions have been reignited by Google's latest quantum computing chip. This chip is said to solve a computational problem in under five minutes, a task that even the most advanced supercomputers would take around 10,000 billion years to complete.
The new chip, called Willow, can perform exponential error corrections and process certain computations at a dizzying speed, according to Hartmut Neven, Google's Quantum AI lead, who stated in a blog post on December 9.
"It reinforces the belief that quantum computing occurs in many parallel universes, consistent with the idea that we live in a multiverse, an early prediction by David Deutsch," Neven added.
Tech entrepreneur and former senior product manager at Google, Kevin Rose, said in a statement on X on December 9 that Willow is still very far from posing a threat to cryptocurrencies.
According to Rose, it is estimated that breaking Bitcoin's encryption would require a quantum computer with around 13 million qubits to decrypt within 24 hours.
"In contrast, Google's Willow chip, while a significant step forward, only contains 105 qubits," he said.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is also preparing for the post-quantum era. Buterin has proposed a way to mitigate the risk of quantum computing for Ethereum with a simple hard fork that could address the issue.
