- Google’s Willow chip achieves 105 qubits but remains far from cracking Bitcoin encryption.
- Breaking Bitcoin’s encryption would require over 1 million qubits, far beyond Willow’s power.
- The crypto market panicked over Willow’s announcement, causing a temporary sell-off.
The crypto market dipped after Google’s recent announcement. Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, revealed that they made a breakthrough in quantum computing with their new chip, Willow.
This quantum processor can perform complex computations in under five minutes—a task that would take classical supercomputers approximately 10 septillion years. But it also raised concerns among investors about what this means for blockchain tech and crypto security.
Quantum computing has long been a theoretical threat to blockchain security. Bitcoin and other crypto assets rely on privacy algorithms like ECDSA and SHA-256 to secure transactions and prevent unauthorized access.
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People are worried that a powerful enough quantum computer could break these cryptographic protections. This could put trillions of dollars in digital assets at risk.
Willow’s Capabilities and Crypto Security
Willow is a quantum chip with 105 qubits. Its announcement sparked worries about whether this marked the beginning of the end for cryptocurrency security. But Ben Sigman, a Bitcoin entrepreneur and advocate, addressed these fears. He explained that cracking Bitcoin’s encryption would take more computational power than Willow currently has.
Sigman added that a device with over 1 million qubits would be needed to successfully break Bitcoin’s cryptographic protections using quantum computing. Willow’s 105 qubits, while impressive, are nowhere near this level.
Google’s improved error rates are a step forward, but we need to see bigger leaps to threaten cryptocurrency networks. Peter Shor’s 1994 algorithm showed how quantum computers could crack certain encryption methods. This remains a key point.
In addition, Shor’s algorithm could theoretically decrypt ECDSA, but its practical use is limited by current quantum hardware. The SHA-256 algorithm used by Bitcoin would need even greater quantum capabilities than those required to break ECDSA.
Market Reaction to Quantum Advances
Even with reassurances from experts, the crypto market reacted strongly to the news about Willow. Investors panicked, worried about what quantum computing could mean for $3.6 trillion worth of crypto assets. The sell-off caused a temporary downturn, showing how sensitive the market is to tech developments.
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