Important points
The Ava Labs co-founder highlighted the vulnerability of early Bitcoin holdings to quantum computing attacks. Current quantum computing power is not yet a threat to Bitcoin's security.
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Google's new quantum computing chip Willow is raising new concerns about Bitcoin's security. Emin Gün Schiller, co-founder of Ava Labs, says that advances in quantum computing could become powerful enough to decrypt the coins held by Satoshi Nakamoto.
Shiller warned that early Bitcoin holdings stored in payment-to-public-key (P2PK) format could be vulnerable to quantum computing attacks. To mitigate this potential threat, Sirer proposed two solutions. Either freezing Satoshi's coins or setting a sunset date for P2PK transactions.
However, Siler said in an earlier statement that current quantum developments do not pose an immediate threat.
According to him, cryptoassets such as Bitcoin and Avalanche use technology in which public keys are only made public for a short period of time during transactions. This means that quantum attackers have limited opportunities to exploit vulnerabilities.
“While quantum computing makes it easier to perform certain operations, such as factoring numbers, other operations, such as inverting a one-way hash function, remain difficult. Additionally, depending on the platform, quantum computers has a small window of opportunity for attack. These two facts make the job of a quantum attacker quite difficult,” he said.
Is quantum leap an imminent threat to cryptocurrencies?
Quantum technology has long raised concerns about its potential impact on cryptography. Last August, Bloomberg published a report discussing how quantum computers could break current cryptographic protocols, including those that utilize blockchain.
The report pointed out the potential impact of quantum computing on cryptocurrency mining. It warned that quantum computers could dominate the mining process, leading to centralization and security vulnerabilities. It could also decrypt your private key, allowing an attacker to steal your cryptocurrency assets.
“Although not an immediate threat, quantum computers may pose significant and material risks to this fast-growing and resilient asset class in the near future,” the report said. “In certain circumstances, various entities, including asset managers and public companies, may wish to consider publicly disclosing the impact that quantum computers have on crypto investments and investment strategies involving cryptocurrencies.”
The introduction of Google's Willow chip has sparked controversy over the accelerating timeline for when quantum computers might be able to break existing cryptographic methods.
The concern is that as quantum technology matures, it becomes increasingly likely that it will undermine the security framework that protects Bitcoin and other crypto assets.
The crypto community has reacted strongly to Willow's release, with many expressing concerns about its impact on Bitcoin's security.
Some members believe that if quantum computers like Willow can make advances, they could eventually crack the codes that protect Bitcoin wallets and transactions, putting trillions of dollars in cryptocurrency assets at risk. We are warning you that this is possible.
“$3.6 trillion worth of crypto assets are or will soon be vulnerable to hacking by quantum computers,” community members wrote.
“My unconventional theory is that Bitcoin will eventually be hacked and become worthless,” said AJ Manaseer, manager of RE PE investment fund. “This new quantum chip did in five minutes what it would take today's supercomputers 10^25 years to accomplish. What impact will such computing power have on cryptography? It kills it.”
Although quantum computing is advancing rapidly, many say it is not yet at a stage where it poses a serious threat to Bitcoin's security.
Experts say breaking two types of Bitcoin encryption, ECDSA 256 and SHA-256, requires a quantum computer with millions of qubits, which Willow lacks. I am doing it.
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