Quantum computing company PsiQuantum is one step closer to its goal of building the world’s first usable quantum computer by starting work on building a quantum facility with a capacity of 1 million qubits, a size that scientists say is powerful enough to crack Bitcoin’s cryptography.
PsiQuantum co-founder, Peter Shadbolt common in a Thursday post to
PsiQuantum he said in September, it raised $1 billion to build a facility with chipmaker Nvidia that will house quantum computers that can operate even when errors occur.
PsiQuantum added that the facility will house 1 million qubits of quantum computing power, equivalent to tens of billions of typical computers, which it hopes will make quantum computing commercially viable to power “next-generation AI supercomputers.”
Some members of the Bitcoin community have warned that the emergence of quantum computing could potentially threaten Bitcoin’s cryptography.
Some Bitcoiners argued that such a compromise could put the current network in jeopardy secures $1.4 trillionare at risk, while others like Blockstream CEO Adam Back say quantum computers won’t pose a real threat to Bitcoin for at least a decade.
The creators of Bitcoin are I’m currently discussing whether to take immediate action against quantum threats via a tough fork, and if so, what this entails.
Bitcoin (BTC) most vulnerable to a quantum attack are unspent transaction wallets (UTXO), or coins associated with wallet addresses that were never spent, many of which date back to the invention of the cryptocurrency.
The number of qubits needed to crack Bitcoin keys is a matter of debate, but estimates are falling as quantum research progresses.
Related: Vitalik Buterin presents a quantum resistance roadmap for Ethereum
A preliminary research paper published last month he argued that it takes about 100,000 qubits to crack 2048-bit keys, while Bitcoin encryption uses 256-bit keys.
The largest quantum computer from the California Institute of Technology has a size of 6,100 qubits.
PsiQuantum has no plans to attack Bitcoin
In July, PsiQuantum co-founder Terry Rudolph he said the company has no plans to employ quantum computers to derive private keys from public keys.
“We have no plans,” Rudolph said during Presidio Bitcoin’s Quantum Bitcoin Summit. “You can’t hide this either, it’s a company consisting of hundreds of people.”
Only 10,000 BTC with reasonable risk: CoinShares
Even if quantum computers can crack Bitcoin, a study by crypto asset manager CoinShares in February found that only 10,230 Bitcoins are vulnerable to quantum attacks and reside in wallet addresses with publicly apparent cryptographic keys.
CoinShares said the sale of 10,230 Bitcoins, equivalent to $728.2 million at current market prices, “would resemble a routine transaction.”
Warehouse: Bitcoin May Take 7 Years to Upgrade to Post-Quantum: BIP-360 Contributor
