"Quantum computing"

[DesmondHayes]

How might the emergence of quantum computing affect the security of Bitcoin and other blockchain networks, and what strategies could be employed to mitigate potential threats posed by quantum computers to the cryptographic foundations of these systems?

Thank you to all those who take the time to answer this question!

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[Reatim]

Quantum computers are dangerous because they can generate the private key from a public key which can be seen in the blockchain. Addresses who use p2pk are the most in danger, they say. With quantum computers, millions of bitcoin can be stolen but I don’t see any reason right now why we should panic.

Before quantum computing reach bitcoin, it will most likely find the altcoins first which will give us time to come up with a resistant system to quantum computing.

[Cricktor]

As if your question hasn't been discussed many times before. Are you just too lazy to do a very basic search in this forum and study existing threads about quantum blabla, threat to Bitcoin blabla, ad infinitum.

I understand if you think, wtf dude, piss off. Yeah, I will, I'm just bored by reading your question for likely the thousandth time.

If you're not happy or incapable of using the forum search, you can still have a better search experience at https://ninjastic.space which allows an even more fun and fast search experience.

Oh and to stay at least a little bit on-topic: as far as I know about quantum computers and their properties, they are still far from a threat to Bitcoin's cryptography. Way too short coherence times for qubits, trouble and need for even more qubits for error correction and simply way way too few stable enough qubits for long enough time to even do some serious problem solving.

I don't deny progress in this hot field of research, but frankly I see no real threat for Bitcoin now, in some years or even one or two decades. I could be wrong, I could be right. Who knows? There's also a lot of hot air and buzz in this research field, too, but that's somewhat normal.

Addresses who use p2pk are the most in danger, they say. With quantum computers, millions of bitcoin can be stolen but I don’t see any reason right now why we should panic.

Isn't it good we have a lot of Satoshi's blocks with so far nearly all unspent P2PK coinbase transactions waiting to be stolen by quantum computing. They are there for the purpose of a canary flag... Clever, isn't it!?

Before quantum computing reach bitcoin, it will most likely find the altcoins first which will give us time to come up with a resistant system to quantum computing.

Seriously, why should someone attack a shit altcoin and not Bitcoin first if quantum computers were capable enough? I'd really like to hear a reasonable explanation.

[Hatchy]

OP, just like Cricktor mentioned, it's a good idea to do some research before posting, since this topic has been discussed many times already and usually ends up with the same answers. Quantum computing technology is still a long way off. These computers would be really smart, but they haven't even been made yet. While they could be a threat to the security of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, it's going to be years before they become a reality. But in today's world, anything is possible, so I'm sure that  developers are already working on creating cryptographic algorithms that can resist quantum computing power.

 

Seriously, why should someone attack a shit altcoin and not Bitcoin first if quantum computers were capable enough? I'd really like to hear a reasonable explanation.

Lol, seriously he should tell us why he thinks that altcoins would be the first to be attacked by quantum computers ones they are designed. Bitcoins value is beyond compare and so if such computers were to be used, they will go for the bigger fish first before considering altcoins.

[SamReomo]

This question has been asked many times in past and asking such question again isn't going to add new information to it.

We are not sure about the future but as of this day quantum computing isn't a thread to Bitcoin's security because if it was then Satoshi's wallets could have been hacked with the help of quantum computing.

Quantum computing isn't harmful for Bitcoin users and when it becomes a threat then surely the developers will make better security mechanisms to prevent such threats.

[AmoreJaz]

This question has been asked many times in past and asking such question again isn't going to add new information to it.

We are not sure about the future but as of this day quantum computing isn't a thread to Bitcoin's security because if it was then Satoshi's wallets could have been hacked with the help of quantum computing.

Quantum computing isn't harmful for Bitcoin users and when it becomes a threat then surely the developers will make better security mechanisms to prevent such threats.

This discussion has been going on for years already while quantum computers are already here. And yet, bitcoin is still continuously doing its part. For sure, btc developers are already working on this, if in case there are potential threats from the quantum side of things. I don't think, they will just sit and observe the btc tech ruined by this tech development.

[pinggoki]

Quantum computers are dangerous because they can generate the private key from a public key which can be seen in the blockchain. Addresses who use p2pk are the most in danger, they say. With quantum computers, millions of bitcoin can be stolen but I don’t see any reason right now why we should panic.

Before quantum computing reach bitcoin, it will most likely find the altcoins first which will give us time to come up with a resistant system to quantum computing.

Either this happens or it won't but I don't see quantum computing being used for that anytime yet, most quantum computers right now are the size of a building and it's literally so unstable that it's environment is strictly controlled so definitely not the time to panic, quantum computers are the next generation of computing but becoming a market ready one, it's going to be 50 years from now and I think that if that's the estimated time that's right then we've got a lot of time in our hands before they can get to our wallets so at the worst case, don't worry about it from happening.

[aoluain]

This has been discussed to the death already....on numerous occasions and as
far back as 2011. I've taken the liberty of using the search function and copying some of
the longer threads for the enjoyment of the OP.

What does Quantum Computing mean for Bitcoin - January 27 2011

Quantum Computing and Bitcoin - September 28 2016

Did Satoshi think that quantum computers will exist? - August 8 2019

How will Quantum Computing affect Bitcoin - March 4 2021

Neven's Law: Only a Decade Before Quantum Computers Hack Bitcoin? - January 27 2022

[curiousNoone]

Qubits for rsa 4000 Logical qubits
Qubits for ecc 2500 Logical qubits

No one has talked about error correction. You need 2-10 million qubits for error correction.
This is straight from the mouth of a quantum engineer.

[kro55]

Quantum computers are dangerous because they can generate the private key from a public key which can be seen in the blockchain. Addresses who use p2pk are the most in danger, they say. With quantum computers, millions of bitcoin can be stolen but I don’t see any reason right now why we should panic.

Before quantum computing reach bitcoin, it will most likely find the altcoins first which will give us time to come up with a resistant system to quantum computing.

I have also heard warnings about quantum computers for bitcoin for many years now, but to be honest, so far I have not seen any dangers of quantum computers for bitcoin. I suspect that these rumors are just nonsense and the purpose behind them is to keep people away from bitcoin, nothing more and nothing less. Stories about quantum computers have been discussed for so many years that they have become boring and only newbies are scared by this nonsense news. Personally, I never believed that quantum computers could affect bitcoin like the news is spreading.

[JollyGood]

Unfortunately there are some of us that have been around long enough to have read many posts about this very issue. As has already been posted, there are a huge number of links to threads that have this discussion in great depth. I agree with several members here that this thread was not necessary but if you are still interested you can read though the existing threads.

[Text]

As I was reading through the research, researchers are actively working on developing cryptographic algorithms that are resistant to attacks from quantum computers. These quantum-resistant algorithms, such as lattice-based cryptography and hash-based signatures, could be adopted to replace the vulnerable cryptographic schemes currently in use.

The first question that came to my mind is how they can develop quantum-resistant cryptography when quantum computers are still in their early stages and it might take 10-15 years to reach a level that threatens blockchains. And what if quantum computing surpasses blockchains, breaking their security before quantum-resistant measures are fully implemented?

[kryptqnick]

Quantum computing is one of those recurring topics of the last couple of decades. Allegedly, there has been some serious progress, but that progress is a number of experiments without errors. Quantum computers are still at the stage of active development, without so much as a timeline of when they might become available to consumers. So, for now, it's not a threat to Bitcoin and not something to worry about, in my opinion. If they get close to becoming a threat, I don't think we'll miss it.

[JollyGood]

If quantum computing ever became close to being a problem for private keys being decrypted, the developers or core team of bitcoin (as well as every other crypto) would no doubt put various protections in place that would add another number of years to what would be required for quantum computing to be considered a threat.

This discussion will be put forward from time to time, especially when OPs might be creating threads hoping to receive merits.

Quantum computing is one of those recurring topics of the last couple of decades. Allegedly, there has been some serious progress, but that progress is a number of experiments without errors. Quantum computers are still at the stage of active development, without so much as a timeline of when they might become available to consumers. So, for now, it's not a threat to Bitcoin and not something to worry about, in my opinion. If they get close to becoming a threat, I don't think we'll miss it.

[Faisal2202]

How might the emergence of quantum computing affect the security of Bitcoin and other blockchain networks, and what strategies could be employed to mitigate potential threats posed by quantum computers to the cryptographic foundations of these systems?

Thank you to all those who take the time to answer this question!

This question has been raised so many times, and my thoughts on this question are always the same, but one thing is, whenever it is asked, I get another thought from another angle. Well, my thoughts are if the existence of quantum computing would be a threat to BTC or any other blockchain technology then why till now any of the companies owning quantum computers do something bad to it? I know if a person has enough hash power that it can create disturbance in the blockchain network. But besides that, I don't think such technology can really break the security of the BTC blockchain or of any other similar protected token.

The strategies that can be employed to mitigate this risk (which I don't think is even exists, at least for the next 5 years) can only be made by developers, new encryption methods would be employed otherwise, the technical knowledge I have, is not giving me any other idea.

[sunsilk]

@OP, you should lock the thread and you've got a lot of threads and other discussions about it. It is really an unending discussion that we'll never know unless it actually happens.

Some may put some scare to the people that are thinking that this is going to end Bitcoin's network as it's said to "crack" private keys or seeds of many folks.

But just to remind you, that Bitcoin has been operational ever since it has been launched on 2009 with a 99.98% uptime.

[CODE200]

Boy oh boy, this quantum computer breaking bitcoin has been a talk here for a really long time and I don't get the reason why that's still the thing that we have to do, to debate whether it will break it or not. To me, I do believe in the capabilities of quantum computing and bitcoin but I don't think that any of us are ever qualified to talk about it and tell us that quantum computing would break bitcoin when we don't exactly know how you would do it with the quantum computer, unless there's a way that you can do it then you're free to talk about it but I doubt anyone here can share an intimate information and most of the time, it's likely that the things that we will share are probably taken from watching a 20-minute video about quantum computing versus bitcoin and some are just obvious and logical stuff about the network and the bitcoin system.

[God bless u]

As far as the discussion is concerned then they are a big threat to existing Bitcoin and altcoins transactions as well as trading systems but these computers are under development and it'll take some time for their launch.

These are very smart and if we talk about the existing system of blockchains or crypto world they will disrupt the market with their technologies. But it's for sure that blockchains owners must be thinking of them and it's their role to play and provide the security to their users. They'll cope up when the time arises.

[titular]

You might get some good information from this thread [1] I started not long ago..

[1] https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5488078.msg63777282#msg63777282

[JollyGood]

I doubt the OP has any interest in quantum computing at all.

The OP has not replied to any of the posts since creating this thread and that is telling. Furthermore, I can speak from having a hunch (as well as a little experience during my time in the forum) therefore am almost certain the aim of the OP was not to research about the quantum computing issue nor is he interested in it. The aim was to receive merits and it seems he has failed on that front.

You might get some good information from this thread [1] I started not long ago..

[1] https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5488078.msg63777282#msg63777282