Google Research Warns Quantum Computers Could Derive Bitcoin Private Keys in Nine Minutes, Elevating the Quantum Threat

Google researchers warned that future quantum computers could derive Bitcoin private keys in as little as nine minutes.

“A simple explainer on what quantum computing actually is, and why it is terrifying for bitcoin Most simplifies the complex process of quantum computing as "it can be 0 and 1 at the same time”

@coindesk

The report described a roughly twentyfold reduction in the computing power needed compared to earlier forecasts.

@coindesk

Google presented the work as an urgent call for cryptocurrency communities to begin migrating toward post-quantum cryptography.

Traditional computers operate on bits that are either 0 or 1.

Quantum computers use qubits that can exist in multiple states simultaneously.

Bloomberg Línea

Google's quantum devices cool a tiny metal loop to a superconducting state.

The security of Bitcoin hinges on the one-way mathematical relationship between public and private keys.

“Bloomberg — Google researchers warned that future quantum computers could be capable of breaking part of the cryptography that protects Bitcoin and other digital assets with fewer resources than previously thought, adding urgency to the debate over how the sector should prepare”

Bloomberg Línea

Quantum computing poses a direct existential threat by potentially breaking this relationship using Shor's algorithm.

Google researchers outlined that attacks could be carried out with approximately 500,000 physical qubits.

An estimated 6.5 million bitcoins could be exposed to the quantum-computing threat.

Google has set an objective to prepare all its systems for post-quantum cryptography by 2029.

Implementing PQC in decentralized systems will require extensive development and consensus.

CoinDesk

Various countermeasures are being reviewed, including hash-based quantum-resistant signature schemes.