Quantum computing and bitcoin

[Tyrantt]

So it just came to me. Quantum computers are pretty  in the near future and it will expand and change prety much everything we see now, but how will quantum computing impact bitcoin?

[RodeoX]

In the future it could have an impact. If SHA encryption is broken for example. However bitcoin would be the least of our worries if that happened. Much of the internet would be vulnerable.  

EDIT: It is also true that if we saw this coming we could switch to another encryption scheme.

[croutonhexagon]

Quantum computing is far from current generation still many research and development is going on but to implement bitcoin in quantum computing it will take few years more and once we have quantam computer then I think it wont take much time to mine all the bitcoin that 21 million bitcoin. But still we have to wait till we could afford to buy quantum computer.

[ArcCsch]

I am more worried that quantum computing would be able to forge elliptic curve digital signatures, totally destroying Bitcoin by invalidating proof of ownership.

[danfoda]

So it just came to me. Quantum computers are pretty  in the near future and it will expand and change prety much everything we see now, but how will quantum computing impact bitcoin?

I dont think so. We have long way to quantum computing. Lets not get ahead of ourselves, haha.

[RodeoX]

I am more worried that quantum computing would be able to forge elliptic curve digital signatures, totally destroying Bitcoin by invalidating proof of ownership.

Amen to that!

[marleybobthedog]

For successful implementation of quantam computing it would take many more decades and to afford that computer for personal or ho.e usages we will have to wait few more years. And I don't think that bitcoin and Quantam computing will share their hands becore 2050. Quantum computing is something like science fiction but it's going to happen in reality but it's far from our imagination.

[gentlemand]

Perhaps quantum computing is another cold fusion. It might remain on the horizon for what seems like forever. And if it does arrive and starts cracking all encryption Bitcoin's going to one of your lesser worries when all remote commerce is vulnerable.

[raphma]

quantum computing is being developed as much as encryption is being improved. we might have a problem in the future, but it's unlikely to happen.

[~Bitcoin~]

Quantum computer are still way far than reality and actually it is only the concept. Even what can be done with quantum computer is not identified or imagined till now so it will be quite early to give any idea regarding its impact on bitcoin.

[ranochigo]

ECDSA may get compromised due to the Shor's algorithm if Quantum computing becomes a reality. This would mean that private keys may get derived from the public key. Something as simple as stopping the address re-use could prevent such things since cracking the public key does take sometime. I expect Bitcoin to move to a new algorithm before then though.

[Clement Kaliyar]

i agree with everyone that suggest that quantum computing does take a very long time to become a reality,theoretically it is based on light and photons and the success of it depends upon how they succeed in the interaction of light and photons and their precision, hope they will succeed in creating a quantum logic gate in a few years .

[n691309]

So it just came to me. Quantum computers are pretty  in the near future and it will expand and change prety much everything we see now, but how will quantum computing impact bitcoin?

I have read a post from theymos and from an analyze bitcoin is protected from these quantum computers for few or more years. I think until then bitcoin will be prepared from these quantum computers.

[Hazir]

Quantum Computing breaking bitcoin is a myth, nothing more. Do you think that in times when we will see real,working quantum computer bitcoin network will be still running on the same old 'engine'?

What is most likely scenario - bitcoin network will be upgraded to match current technological progress. Plus - Bitcoin is not the primary target in case we we will have suddenly QC - traditional banking is.

They are using encryption, old school networking and all these features will  make them more susceptible to attacks that bitcoin network ever will.

[Kprawn]

We will have another Y2K event, where all secure sites and technologies using the current algorithms need to upgrade to something

stronger, this includes Bitcoin. I am not saying that there will not be a window period, where there will be vulnerabilities, but whomever

gets to develop Quantum computers first, will give us enough warning to upgrade. { They will boast about their accomplishment, way in

advance } 

[Lauda]

Why do people always ask the same questions over and over again, without even spending 5 seconds trying to search for the answers themselves? This topic was beaten to death, and here are some examples:
Quantum computer? So what! No worries...(?)
Quantum computer mining
Quantum computers and Bitcoin

Quantum Computing breaking bitcoin is a myth, nothing more.

No, actually it is not. Quantum computers could break ECSDA to being with.

[ranlo]

EDIT: It is also true that if we saw this coming we could switch to another encryption scheme.

This is the part so many people neglect to realize. If quantum computing made any real impact on things like encryption, we'd have more processing power to create a better, more secure one. And since BTC is open source, that is a quick and easy solution. At the same time, however, it would disable all current ASICs, and I do believe most altcoins would be susceptible (as the majority don't even follow current development).

[ekoice]

Quantum computing is  definitely a matter of serious concern.
It is said that it will break the block chain mechanism.
I think it will take more time to come to reality

[XCASH]

EDIT: It is also true that if we saw this coming we could switch to another encryption scheme.

This is the part so many people neglect to realize. If quantum computing made any real impact on things like encryption, we'd have more processing power to create a better, more secure one. And since BTC is open source, that is a quick and easy solution. At the same time, however, it would disable all current ASICs, and I do believe most altcoins would be susceptible (as the majority don't even follow current development).

Bitcoin modified to use a quantum cryptography algorithm would probably make it even more secure. Quantum techniques could strengthen a modified Bitcoin's security, not destroy it. There is a paper at SANS discussing quantum cryptography which concludes that "quantum techniques should meet the encryption needs of users, perhaps indefinitely".

Quantum Encryption - A Means to Perfect Security?

It gives three reasons that make quantum cryptography uncrackable in the paragraph below.

Quantum cryptography is thought to be secure for three main reasons (Lo). One, the quantum no-cloning theorem states that an unknown quantum state cannot be cloned. Theoretically, messages sent using quantum cryptography would be in an unknown quantum state, so they could not be copied and sent on. Two, in a quantum system, which can be in one of two states, any attempt to measure the quantum state will disturb the system. A quantum message that is intercepted and read by an eavesdropper will become garbled and useless to the intended recipient of the message. Three, the effects produced by measuring a quantum property are irreversible, which means an eavesdropper cannot “put back” a quantum message to its original state. These three properties provide the power of quantum cryptography. No amount of effort or genius can alter the fact that observing a quantum property irrevocably alters the object being observed.

It also adds that the first prototype demonstrating encrypting and decrypting quantum messages was invented in 1989, so quantum cryptography is no longer just theoretical.

Public key cryptography was invented in the 1970s by Diffie, Hellman and Merkle. It differed from previous encryption systems in that the groups sending messages did not have to agree on a key beforehand. The encryption key is in the public domain, so anyone can encrypt a message, while the related decryption key is held privately so that one person or a trusted group of people are the only ones able to decrypt the message. In 1989, the first fully working prototype of an instrument that encrypted and decrypted quantum messages was produced at the IBM Thomas Watson Research Center. In this case, the information was transmitted over a distance of only a few inches and the transmission rate was very low (Dwyer).

[cjmoles]

Why are people saying that quantum computers are still a thing of the future?  Aren't they already here and only getting better?  http://www.sciencealert.com/google-s-quantum-computer-is-100-million-times-faster-than-your-laptop  And, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-Wave_Systems

Is the future now?