Musk Backs Fringe Theory That Quantum Computers May Have Limitations

Oxford physicist Tim Palmer has proposed that quantum computers may have limitations in terms of their size. According to Palmer, entanglement eventually hits a wall at around 200-400 qubits on current hardware. This theory was discussed by Elon Musk, who agreed with Palmer's assessment that the universe is integer in units of Planck cubes.

Musk's comments were cited by investor Fred Krueger as evidence that Bitcoin (BTC) is already quantum-safe. However, this interpretation is not entirely accurate, as Musk did not specifically mention private keys or Bitcoins' quantum problem.

The current estimates suggest that at least 835 logical qubits are required to break Bitcoins' signatures with Shors' algorithm. Palmer's theory proposes a physical limit on the size of quantum computers, which could potentially make them less effective at breaking complex codes like those used in Bitcoin.