PANews reported on May 14 that according to CoinDesk, Colton Dillion, co-founder of Quip Network, said that quantum computing technology might pose a substantial threat to blockchain security. Although the technology is still in its early stages, companies like Google and Microsoft are accelerating research and development, and its super computing power could potentially easily crack the current encryption algorithms protecting blockchains. Dillion described a quantum-powered double spend attack: attackers would only need about 26% of the computing power of a traditional 51% attack to control the top 10,000 wallets and rollback transaction chains. "This attack would be as stealthy as a whale moving funds, and by the time people notice, it would be too late." Currently, Bitcoin developers have proposed quantum-resistant proposals like QRAMP, but the slow governance process of the community might delay critical upgrades.
Traditional governance processes like Bitcoin BIP and Ethereum EIP typically require years to reach consensus. Dillion noted: "The evolution of quantum threats is far faster than the protocol's response capability." The quantum-resistant vault launched by Quip Network uses hybrid encryption technology to provide users with instant protection that does not rely on protocol upgrades, but the industry still needs a fundamental solution. As quantum computing develops, the cryptocurrency community might face a security race against time.
