What to know:
- Google’s study reveals quantum computers can break Bitcoin and Ethereum’s cryptography with fewer than 500,000 qubits.
- A quantum computer could crack a Bitcoin private key in 9 minutes, and Ethereum’s 1,000 richest accounts could be compromised in under 9 days.
- Experts urge the crypto industry to adopt post-quantum cryptography, with Google setting a 2029 deadline for its migration.
Recently, Google conducted a study, and the results indicate that the number of qubits needed by quantum computers to break cryptography used in cryptocurrency blockchains, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, might be drastically lower than what was thought before. The study shows that a quantum computer having fewer than 500,000 physical qubits can potentially decipher the widely used 256-bit elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem, or ECDLP-256, in cryptocurrency blockchains.
Crypto’s Quantum Vulnerability
The paper reveals that a quantum computer may be able to break a Bitcoin private key in around nine minutes, which is a very short time for it to perform the “on-spend attack” considering Bitcoin’s 10-minute block time.
Ethereum is also susceptible to “at-rest attacks” that do not require timing. This is because its account model keeps public keys permanently exposed on the blockchain. According to Google, the 1,000 richest exposed Ethereum accounts with approximately 20.5 million ETH could be broken in less than nine days.
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Mitigating the Risks
Google advises that blockchains should be switched over to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) as soon as possible rather than waiting for the actual threats to be revealed. The Ethereum Foundation recently published a post-quantum roadmap. Besides, co-founder Vitalik Buterin has pointed out that changes to validator signatures, data storage, accounts, and proofs are necessary for programming quantum-resistant blockchains.
However, support for Bitcoin core developers to react quickly to new cryptographic challenges has been low, in fact, crypto entrepreneur Nic Carter recently observed that Bitcoin developers have been the slowest to respond in the crypto world.
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Post-Quantum Push
The Quantum Deadline Google has marked 2029 as the deadline for its post-quantum cryptography migration, which means it doesn’t think the “quantum frontiers” are going to be far off. While the crypto community is still trying to understand and deal with this new threat, experts recognize the necessity for taking preventive steps to keep blockchain ecosystems secure and stable.
A recent study by Google points to the crypto industry that it must urgently come up with a plan to counter the risks that might be brought about by quantum computing. Since the technology is still developing, it is up to the stakeholders to give priority to the creation and the application of post-quantum cryptography measures so that the future of cryptocurrency and blockchain security is guaranteed.
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