Construction begins at quantum facility big enough to break Bitcoin
The quantum computing company PsiQuantum is a step closer to its goal of building the world’s first useful quantum computer, breaking ground on the construction of a 1 million-qubit quantum facility, a size that scientists say is powerful enough to crack Bitcoin’s cryptography.
PsiQuantum co-founder Peter Shadbolt shared a photo of its Chicago site in a post to X on Thursday, saying that 500 tons of steel had been erected in six days, which will house the computer.
PsiQuantum said in September that it raised $1 billion to build the facility in collaboration with chip maker Nvidia, designed to house quantum computers capable of functioning even if they have errors.
PsiQuantum added that the facility would house 1 million qubits of quantum computing power, the equivalent of tens of billions of typical computers, with the aim of making quantum computing commercially useful to support “next-generation AI supercomputers.”
Some in the Bitcoin community have warned that the advent of quantum computing could potentially compromise Bitcoin’s cryptography.
Some Bitcoiners have argued that such a compromise could put the network, which currently secures $1.4 trillion, at risk, while others, such as Blockstream CEO Adam Back, have said quantum computers won’t post a real threat to Bitcoin for at least a decade.
Bitcoin developers are currently discussing whether to take immediate action against quantum threats via a hard fork, and if so, what that would entail.
The Bitcoin (BTC) most vulnerable to a quantum attack are unspent transaction output (UTXO) wallets, or coins tied to wallet addresses that have never been spent, many of which date back to when the cryptocurrency was first invented.
The amount of qubits needed to crack Bitcoin keys is debated, but estimates are dropping as quantum research advances.
Related: Vitalik Buterin outlines quantum resistance roadmap for Ethereum
A preprint scientific paper released last month argued that around 100,000 qubits are needed to break 2048-bit keys, while Bitcoin’s encryption uses 256-bit keys.
The largest quantum computer, from the California Institute of Technology, is 6,100 qubits in size.
PsiQuantum has no plans to attack Bitcoin
In July, PsiQuantum co-founder Terry Rudolph said the company has no plans to use quantum computers to derive private keys from public keys.
“We do not have plans,” Rudolph said at the Presidio Bitcoin-hosted Quantum Bitcoin Summit. “You can’t hide this stuff as well; it’s a company of hundreds of people.”
Only 10,000 BTC at legitimate risk: CoinShares
Even if quantum computers can break Bitcoin, research from crypto asset manager CoinShares in February found that only 10,230 Bitcoin is both quantum-vulnerable and sitting in wallet addresses with publicly visible cryptographic keys.
CoinShares said a selloff of 10,230 Bitcoin, equal to $728.2 million at current market prices, would “resemble a routine trade.”
Magazine: Bitcoin may take 7 years to upgrade to post-quantum: BIP-360 co-author
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