Microsoft Announces Majorana 1 Quantum Chip, Is the Bitcoin Threat Resurfaced?
Microsoft Unveils Majorana 1 Quantum Chip - Is Bitcoin About to Face Danger?
Microsoft Announces Majorana 1 Quantum Chip
After nearly 20 years of research, tech giant Microsoft officially introduced its new quantum computing chip called Majorana 1 on February 19, 2025.
A couple reflections on the quantum computing breakthrough we just announced...
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) February 19, 2025
Most of us grew up learning there are three main types of matter that matter: solid, liquid, and gas. Today, that changed.
After a nearly 20 year pursuit, we've created an entirely new state of… pic.twitter.com/Vp4sxMHNjc
This is a major breakthrough, promising to shorten the time to bring quantum computers to reality from decades to just a few years.
The Majorana 1 Bit is made from a mixture of semiconductor and superconductor materials. According to Microsoft, this Bit uses a new state of matter, in addition to solid, liquid, and gas, to improve the performance and stability of quantum computers.
Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, shared with Bloomberg that this technology could bring breakthroughs in many fields such as chemistry, healthcare, and data centers.
"Imagine a Bit that fits in the palm of your hand but can solve problems that all the computers on Earth combined couldn't," the CEO expressed.
Billionaire Elon Musk also shared Nadella's post, evaluating that this technology is making more and more improvements.
Microsoft's research results have been published in Nature, one of the world's leading scientific journals. Microsoft started this project in the early 2000s and it is considered the company's longest-running research project.
Last year, Google also launched the Willow quantum superchip. This Bit has a computing capacity of up to 105 qubits, allowing the Bit to perform tasks that the world's top supercomputers would take 10 septillion (10 million trillion trillion) years to complete.
Quantum computers can perform calculations that today's systems would need millions of years to complete. Instead of using the binary 0 and 1 Bits like traditional computers, quantum computers use qubits, which support processing 0, 1, or both simultaneously, significantly increasing the computing speed.
However, a major challenge of quantum computers is processing errors, causing qubit disruption and leading to incorrect results. Microsoft claims that Majorana 1 has higher stability by combining traditional semiconductor materials with Majorana fermion subatomic particles, thereby reducing errors better than its competitors.
"Major Threat" to Bitcoin
While quantum computing brings many opportunities, it is also a serious threat to cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin.
One of the biggest concerns is about the "Q-Day", the day when quantum computers can break the cryptographic algorithms that are the security backbone of Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies. If a powerful enough quantum computer is built, it could:
Control more than 50% of the Bitcoin network's computing power, allowing it to manipulate, reverse confirmed transactions, and even double-spend a certain amount of Bitcoin.
Guess private keys, find the key of a vulnerable Bitcoin wallet, causing the owner to lose control of their assets.
On this matter, Bitcoin researcher Ethan Heilman commented that the history of cryptography is a series of changes to adapt to new attacks, faster computers, and better algorithms. The biggest challenge for Bitcoin researchers is how to protect digital assets for decades, even centuries.
The threat from quantum computing is real, but there are some options to protect cryptocurrencies from this risk:
Use multisignature wallets: This type of wallet requires multiple keys to execute a transaction, enhancing security.
Offline storage: Store Bitcoin on devices not connected to the internet.
Migrate to quantum-resistant wallets: Some projects are developing new encryption wallets and algorithms that can withstand quantum computer attacks.
Compiled by Coin68
