A new study from Google’s Quantum AI team has raised alarms about the future of Bitcoin’s encryption. Researcher Craig Gidney revealed that quantum computers could break 2048-bit RSA encryption with far fewer resources than previously estimated. While Bitcoin does not use RSA, it relies on elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), which experts warn is also vulnerable to quantum attacks. This revelation compresses the timeline for when quantum computing could pose a real threat to cryptocurrency security.
Gidney’s findings show that a quantum computer with fewer than one million noisy qubits could factor a 2048-bit RSA integer in under a week. This is a dramatic shift from his 2019 estimate, which required 20 million qubits and eight hours of computation. The implications are clear. Quantum technology is advancing faster than expected, and Bitcoin’s security framework may not be as untouchable as once believed.
ECC, the encryption method securing Bitcoin transactions, is designed to be more efficient than RSA. Instead of relying on large numbers, it uses mathematical curves to lock and unlock digital data. However, quantum computing can still break ECC using Shor’s algorithm, a method capable of solving logarithmic problems that underpin public key cryptography. This means Bitcoin’s defenses are not immune to future quantum breakthroughs.
The urgency of quantum-resistant cryptography is growing. IBM’s most advanced quantum processor, Condor, operates with just over 1,100 qubits, while Google’s Sycamore reaches 53 qubits. These numbers are far from the million-qubit threshold needed to break RSA, but progress is accelerating. The race is on to develop encryption methods that can withstand quantum attacks before the technology reaches its full potential.
Sources
https://www.coinspeaker.com/bitcoin-encryption-faces-growing-risks-of-quantum-computing/
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/quantum-computing-could-break-bitcoin-081737396.html