Researchers Cut Quantum Computing Resources Needed to Attack Bitcoin and Ethereum by Half
(22 days ago) · 1 source · Summarized by CryptoBipto — how we make this
A research team has published findings showing that the quantum computing resources required to perform a key cryptographic operation used in attacking Bitcoin and Ethereum have been reduced by approximately 50%. The breakthrough lowers the theoretical threshold at which quantum computers could threaten the elliptic curve cryptography underpinning major blockchains. However, practical quantum attacks on these networks remain far from feasible with current hardware.
WHY IT MATTERS
Think of your crypto wallet like a mailbox with a lock. Your public key is like the address on the mailbox — anyone can see it — while your private key is the key that opens the lock. Today's computers cannot figure out the private key from the public key because the math is too hard. Quantum computers, a new type of computer that works very differently, could theoretically solve that math. This research shows that the quantum computer needed to do so might not have to be as powerful as previously thought. That does not mean anyone can break crypto wallets today — current quantum computers are still far too weak — but it does mean the crypto community may need to upgrade its security sooner than expected. "Post-quantum cryptography" refers to new types of math puzzles that even quantum computers would struggle to solve, and researchers are working on adding these to blockchains.
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