Quantum Computing Threat Looms Over Crypto Market
Researchers are making rapid progress in developing powerful quantum computers that could potentially undermine the mathematical assumptions protecting cryptocurrency and other blockchain-based assets.
The industry is at risk of a 'great quantum migration', where over $2 trillion in digital assets secured by elliptic curve cryptography, which has been known to be vulnerable for 30 years, may be compromised. This includes nearly the entire crypto market worth $2.16 trillion.
Christopher Smith, co-founder and CEO of Quantus, a quantum-secure blockchain network, warns that AI is being used to accelerate quantum research, with Google researchers estimating that the computational resources required to attack the elliptic-curve cryptography used by cryptocurrencies may be lower than previously thought.
The threat from quantum computing may be getting closer, with Smith pointing out that a giant Bitcoin wallet could be an obvious target for a quantum attack. He highlighted Binance's Bitcoin cold wallet, which contains more than $10 billion.