Quantum computer researchers: Bitcoin encryption breakable in a few years
5 hours ago
- #cryptography
- #Bitcoin security
- #quantum computing
- Google Quantum AI estimates that a quantum computer with under 500,000 error-corrected physical qubits could break Bitcoin's encryption in nine minutes by calculating a private key from a public key.
- The attack leverages Shor's algorithm and targets the 10-minute window when a transaction is in the mempool, allowing a quantum computer to forge a transaction with a higher fee to displace the original.
- Improvements in efficiency, such as Windowed Arithmetic and Yoked Surface Codes for error correction, reduce the required computational steps and qubits, making the attack more feasible by the 2030s.
- Around 6.9 million Bitcoins are at risk due to exposed public keys, including outdated P2PK addresses and inactive 'sleeping' coins, with Ethereum facing broader vulnerabilities from smart contracts and staking.
- Researchers recommend migrating to post-quantum cryptography, but this requires protocol changes in decentralized networks, and they disclose findings via zero-knowledge proofs to avoid providing attack blueprints.