-
Hypothetically, a powerful quantum computer would compromise BTC’s cryptography.
-
Bitcoin uses algorithms to protect digital signatures for transactions and Mining.
On December 9, tech giant Google announced the launch of Willow, its new quantum chip. This advance sparked debates about the potential impact of this technology on the security of Bitcoin (BTC), whose cryptography is based on algorithms that, in theory, could be compromised by quantum systems in the future.
The Google chip has the ability to solve a mathematical problem “in 5 minutes that would take a supercomputer 10 septillion years (that is, 10 25), a number that far exceeds the age of the Universe,” according to the statement. of the company.
Willow is made up of 105 physical qubits. The qubits (in English qubits) are the basic unit of information in a quantum computer, similar to the bits in a classical computer.
The team behind this chip he added that “Willow can reduce errors exponentially as we scale up using more qubits,” which would suggest that more powerful versions would exist in the future.
Google introduced its quantum chip, Willow. Fountain: Google.
What does this quantum chip do and how could it affect Bitcoin?
Quantum computing provides an information processing approach based on the laws of quantum mechanics to perform large-scale calculations. Instead of classical bits, it uses qubits (quantum bits), which can simultaneously represent 0 and 1 thanks to a quantum mechanical phenomenon known as overlap.
Added to other phenomena, such as entanglementthese qualities of quantum computing allow it to perform exponentially faster calculations on certain mathematical problems.
Quantum computing is especially useful for problems that require a massive exploration of possibilities such as data processing, route planning and molecule simulation to develop drugs; in cryptography, to develop more secure systems or break algorithms.
In other words, the quantum computers They are designed to solve problems that classical computers cannot or would take much longer to do. Recently, the companies Microsoft and Atom Computing developed a commercial quantum computer, which would be on the market by 2025.
In the context of Bitcointhe potential capabilities of quantum computing to solve cryptographic problems could put at risk, at some point in history, the security of BTC encryption.
What is the encryption used in Bitcoin?
Bitcoin uses cryptography to ensure the security of transactions and ownership of assets. The algorithm used to carry out the digital signature of operations on its network is ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm).
ECDSA security is based on the difficulty of solving the mathematical problem of the private key from the public key (elliptic discrete logarithm problem), which is extremely difficult for classical computers to compromise.
In addition to this, the Bitcoin network uses the mining algorithm SHA-256 (Secure Hash Algorithm). It is a hashing algorithm used in the mining process to secure the network. Its security is based on the difficulty of finding collisions (two different inputs that produce the same hash).
After the Willow news broke, the question arose as to whether a sufficiently advanced quantum computer could break crypto schemes of Bitcoin.
Quantum algorithms, such as Shorcan factor large numbers efficiently.
This means that a hypothetical attacker, using quantum computers, could break the ECDSA algorithm used to generate Bitcoin’s private keys. If this were to occur, the attacker could obtain private keys and sign transactions on behalf of users without their consent.
Could Quantum Computing Compromise Bitcoin Mining?
Additionally, and in theoretical terms as well, the advances in quantum computing could speed up the process Bitcoin mining.
Using the algorithm Grovera quantum computer could reduce the time needed to find valid solutions in SHA-256, giving disproportionate advantages to quantum miners.
This algorithm could speed up searching unordered databases, which would significantly decrease the security of hash functions like SHA-256. Quantum miners could solve mining problems faster, earning block rewards more frequently than classical miners.
Quantum computing, and Google’s Willow chip, could impact Bitcoin several theoretical ways due to its ability to perform extremely complex calculations at speeds much faster than classical computers.
However, quantum risk is a long-term concern that could be mitigated with upgrades to quantum computing-resistant algorithms.
For example, after the news of Willow became known, analysts at Bernstein Research they suggested that “any practical threat to Bitcoin appears to be decades away” with quantum computing.
Despite that statement, these specialists also made it clear that the bitcoiner community should begin to prepare for the quantum future.
Crypto Keynote USA
For the Latest Crypto News, Follow ©KeynoteUSA on Twitter Or Google News.
