Is Willow (Google new quantum computer chip) going to kill Bitcoin?

[superbotolo]

Google has just announced Willow, their first quantum computer chip. It's incredibly powerful, having solved in less than five minutes a computational problem that would take the fastest computer available right now more than 10 septillion years (a number that vastly exceeds the age of the Universe). Will this chip be able to break the cryptography behind BTC addresses so quickly that it will make the entire BTC network insecure?

[NotFuzzyWarm]

Ever hear of providing links to go along with a good story?

[seoincorporation]

Nothing to be afraid, if quantum computers become a risk for cryptos then we only have to mirate the cryptography to the new algorithms created by the nist. Those algorithms are quantum proof, and that could be a nice solution.

And if quantum computers become a risk for sha256, there are things to worry about more than bitcoin.

[headingnorth]

Why would quantum computing only target bitcoin?

If it could kill bitcoin then it could bring down the entire internet and every company connected to the internet
(Amazon, Facebook, Apple, JPMorgan Chase, etc would all be destroyed). Of course all the 10,000 altcoins would also cease to exist.

As well as destroying all the satellites and cell towers in the world, all the credit card networks as well as govt networks in the world would be shut down, etc.
Civilization and the modern world as we know it would pretty much come to an end.  

[NotFuzzyWarm]

What the OP is so excited about is that for the 1st time error rates has become acceptable as verified by the RCS simulation https://research.google/blog/validating-random-circuit-sampling-as-a-benchmark-for-measuring-quantum-progress/  Oh - and Willow is not their 1st chip. It is their 2nd one.

Fine. However there is still not a single QC application program that has *any* real-world use and per the Google researchers there are still several more milestones to be crossed before there ever will be any. It took over 19 years to solve the error rate problem, odds are it will take several decades more to cross the remaining milestones.

Once technology does progress enough for real-world applications:
a. QC's will not be available outside of research organizations and 3-letter gov agencies for many many years meaning hackers will be locked out for a long long time.

b. As others have already said, once QC's *are* widely available, crypto coins will be far down the list of targets. The world's banking and information systems will be much higher on the list. Those being attacked will make attacks on crypto of insignificant importance.

[CochnocherCrypto]

I have to agree with Fuzzy. Not sure why there is an assumption that those who, may potentially, wield said computational resources would just automatically try to "kill bitcoin"?

BTC has grown, exponentially, without a doubt. That doesn't mean that a company, to the likes of Google, would want to hinder it's evolution.

[Gooner0]

Willow Can in no way affect BTC as it is in no way directly related to outshining Bitcoin.
Willow is just a quantum computer chip designed to enable time - to - market for quantum computing experts.
Googles focus with willow is on developing practical applications for quantum computers that cannot be done on classical computers .
I don't really see willow as a
Something that could affect Bitcoin in anyway.

[PrivacyG]

Is a new found exploit going to kill Bitcoin?  Possibly.

Yet, in 2010 somebody was able to find a bug good enough to produce 184 BILLION BITCOINS for themselves.  Did Bitcoin die?  No, a solution was found and the problem was eventually solved.

This is what I expect will happen to Bitcoin in the event of a Quantum Computer powerful enough to 'kill Bitcoin'.  A solution will be found and we will simply move on after a few minutes, hours or days of panic.  That is it.

[Outhue]

It seems that you all want Bitcoin to be the target of the first quantum computer, you people believe that breaking Bitcoin is why quantum computer will exist, you must be joking.

Any small quantum computer news you guys will run to the forum and make a topic about it targeting Bitcoin as if that's why it was built, enough with this nonsense already.

Let's say it might be possible, you think there won't be a solution? If the real reason why quantum computer will exist is because of breaking Bitcoin either one of these two will happen.

1. The quantum computer launch will never happen.
2. A fix to Bitcoin blockchain will be implemented right away.

Enough is enough with the delusions about Quantum computers and Bitcoin.

[PrivacyG]

It seems that you all want Bitcoin to be the target of the first quantum computer, you people believe that breaking Bitcoin is why quantum computer will exist, you must be joking.

Any small quantum computer news you guys will run to the forum and make a topic about it targeting Bitcoin as if that's why it was built, enough with this nonsense already.

It is not nonsense at all and I do not think any of us WANT Bitcoin to be the target.

However.  Algorithms and Math play a role in both Quantum Computing and Bitcoin.  So there is a pretty significant chance that a scientist who is working on a Quantum Computer will also think about trying to break Bitcoin.  And the reasons are very simple too.  For one, they would break something that was thought to be unbreakable.  And second of all.  This would be a highlight of their career and would generate SIGNIFICANT numbers of articles in their name or the name of their company.

Bitcoin is not a target of Quantum Computers, but it may be broken even in a play attempt by scientists in the future.  It does not have to be a vile attempt at breaking it but a quick experiment of 'What if?' ended in a huge success and break through.

[betswift]

It seems that you all want Bitcoin to be the target of the first quantum computer, you people believe that breaking Bitcoin is why quantum computer will exist, you must be joking.

Any small quantum computer news you guys will run to the forum and make a topic about it targeting Bitcoin as if that's why it was built, enough with this nonsense already.

It is not nonsense at all and I do not think any of us WANT Bitcoin to be the target.

However.  Algorithms and Math play a role in both Quantum Computing and Bitcoin.  So there is a pretty significant chance that a scientist who is working on a Quantum Computer will also think about trying to break Bitcoin.  And the reasons are very simple too.  For one, they would break something that was thought to be unbreakable.  And second of all.  This would be a highlight of their career and would generate SIGNIFICANT numbers of articles in their name or the name of their company.

Bitcoin is not a target of Quantum Computers, but it may be broken even in a play attempt by scientists in the future.  It does not have to be a vile attempt at breaking it but a quick experiment of 'What if?' ended in a huge success and break through.

Sounds more like it - and I rightfully believe that some would be having such thoughts behind it.
Maybe OP would be able to list his sources.

[fikrett]

I have to agree with Fuzzy. Not sure why there is an assumption that those who, may potentially, wield said computational resources would just automatically try to "kill bitcoin"?

BTC has grown, exponentially, without a doubt. That doesn't mean that a company, to the likes of Google, would want to hinder it's evolution.

In the decades to come, maybe it would - become - such a target due to how big it will be and on the ear of the people all around the world too.
So it isn't without a reason to think that way - however, I think too much time is needed for that to happen, and, as it was said by Fuzzy again - other places would be targeted first and foremost.

[john_egbert]

It seems that you all want Bitcoin to be the target of the first quantum computer, you people believe that breaking Bitcoin is why quantum computer will exist, you must be joking.

Any small quantum computer news you guys will run to the forum and make a topic about it targeting Bitcoin as if that's why it was built, enough with this nonsense already.

Let's say it might be possible, you think there won't be a solution? If the real reason why quantum computer will exist is because of breaking Bitcoin either one of these two will happen.

1. The quantum computer launch will never happen.
2. A fix to Bitcoin blockchain will be implemented right away.

Enough is enough with the delusions about Quantum computers and Bitcoin.

We hope that the BTC will be ready for such a development - and it's news and speculations, after all - we, people, are in for such things 
If all the news would be constructive, there wouldn't be as much as them. And they wouldn't be discussed that much.

[FortuneFollower]

Is a new found exploit going to kill Bitcoin?  Possibly.

Yet, in 2010 somebody was able to find a bug good enough to produce 184 BILLION BITCOINS for themselves.  Did Bitcoin die?  No, a solution was found and the problem was eventually solved.

This is what I expect will happen to Bitcoin in the event of a Quantum Computer powerful enough to 'kill Bitcoin'.  A solution will be found and we will simply move on after a few minutes, hours or days of panic.  That is it.

Both you and outhue pointed out that the fix would be implemented right away - and I too think there should be no panic behind such developments because it's natural to think about things that - may - do something.
But in the end, BTC would endure, without a little breach or not. And that is what matters.

[aoluain]

Ok so we can be 100% certain Google are NOT the only ones chasing QC. Every
other chip manufacturer including those producing chips for Bitcoin mining are
chasing that goal too.

TSMC, Samsung, Intel, Nvidia, Broadcom inc, Qualcomm, Micron Technology, AMD,
Texas Instruments and Applied Materials are a list of the top manufacturers all
competing against each other.

https://www.mrlcg.com/resources/blog/top-10-semiconductor-companies-of-2024--market-leaders---innovators/

QC is a journey, we reach it over a long period of development, not overnight and
so while one manufacturer might get there as the first to create a QC chip, lets say
TSMC you can be damned sure Samsung for example could be a very close second.

I think a lot of people have this idea that the first QC will be so powerful all existing
computers will be just like Fax machines compared to it - which of course wont be
the case

Just like the gaming sector, while NVIDIA are probably on top, its just by a very
small margin, all the manufacturers are moving and developing
together and more than likely at the same pace.

We anticipate the Nvidia Blackwell and RTX 50-series, AMD RDNA 4,
and Intel Battlemage GPUs will arrive in the next couple of months. Most
likely all will see an early 2025 release

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gpus,4380.html


While not specifically related to Googles Willow here is a list of some previous QC threads of worry...

By using the search facility the answers to this query can be found in approximately 4 seconds.

Its one of the most popular topics here on the forum, I got bored of copying links so I stopped at around 20.

Bitcoin invented by the US - SHA-256 decodable Quantum Computers  (Read 113 times)

Quantum computers and cryptocurrencies  (Read 273 times)

Quantum resistance  (Read 293 times)

Quantum computers  (Read 293 times)

Do you think that quantum computing could help or enhance blockchain technology?  (Read 97 times)

What will happen if quantum computer owners start to move the early mined coins?  (Read 371 times)

Bitcoin endangered b/c of quantum computers  (Read 762 times)

Will Google's Quantum Computer Destroy Bitcoin?  (Read 658 times)

Entanglement for Quantum Computing chips achieved, will Bitcoin keep up?  (Read 137 times)

Quantum Computers Wallets, Encryption and and Bitcoin blockchain  (Read 136 times)

Google Says That They Have Just Reached Quantum Supremacy - BITCOIN IN DANGER?  (Read 332 times)

Quantum Computer Will Destroy Bitcoin  (Read 255 times)

Do you think quantum computers would break Bitcoin's security?  (Read 4143 times)

Quantum computing is not really a Bitcoin problem.  (Read 291 times)

Does Bitcoin Have A Quantum Computing Problem?  (Read 191 times)

New Chinese Quantum Computer breakthrough - should we be concerned?  (Read 176 times)

Quantum computers of NSA, advantageous to bitcoin or not?  (Read 483 times)

Bitcoin and quantum computing dangers  (Read 137 times)

quantum computing  (Read 180 times)

Quantum computer could kill bitcoin  (Read 286 times)

Will Quantum Computers Spell the Doom of Bitcoin?  (Read 1206 times)

[Cryptomultiplier]

Google has just announced Willow, their first quantum computer chip. It's incredibly powerful, having solved in less than five minutes a computational problem that would take the fastest computer available right now more than 10 septillion years (a number that vastly exceeds the age of the Universe). Will this chip be able to break the cryptography behind BTC addresses so quickly that it will make the entire BTC network insecure?

The fear following this quantum computer chip, Willow, soon to be introduced by google, is in its potential to break the cryptographic algorithm that ensures the Blockchain network is secured.
 Well, am sure that quantum computer chip is not designed to function with the sole aim of attacking Bitcoin or other cryptos or the Blockchain itself but if this is the case, am sure that Bitcoin and other crypto currencies would be upgraded to the core of their systems, inorder to resist any manipulation or tampering of the blockchain system.
Also, it is important to know that the decentralized system is a collection of work from both miners and nodes alike, which of course facilitates the efficiency of its operations, thus it might just be rather difficult for any individual or even a super quantum computer chip to easily attack the decentralized system with successful result.

[FortuneFollower]

From what I understand, Willow's 105 qubits still aren't enough to crack bitcoin's encryption which would require millions of qubits.

The fact that the crypto community has already anticipated this and is working on quantum-reistant solutions is reassuring.Post-quantum cryptography is already being explored to ensure bitcoin and other blockchains stay secure as quantum technology advances

As it was said - even if it would happen, it wouldn't target only BTC.
And BTC would be probably ready for it by that time.
If not - there will be a little breach, and then - the problem will be solved.
No in-between.

[icalical]

Millions of qubits is needed to break the block of Bitcoins, created by using SHA-256 and ECC, and Willow has generated only 105 qubits. At least for now, even though quantum computing has a lot of potentials according to Willow nevertheless, the criticisms regarding Bitcoin are exaggerated and in fact, the real-world applications differ considerably from the theoretical aspect.

https://blockonomi.com/googles-willow-quantum-chip-a-step-forward-in-computing-but-bitcoin-remains-secure/

[retreat]

There has been a lot of discussion about the threat of quantum computers to Bitcoin, but from all that I see it is just an assumption and unnecessary fear. If quantum computers are a threat to Bitcoin, then it will also be a threat to other technologies that use cryptography. And also the Bitcoin core devs must have solutions to future problems, I don't think they will just sit back and watch the potential that can destroy Bitcoin, they must have thought about mitigation and solutions to big things like that.

[pakhitheboss]

Why are we speculating whether the chip is going to destroy Bitcoin? Did anyone here check the roadmap of Willow? Did anyone read the Google blog on Willow? I do not think so with the amount of replies I just read. I do not think they created this chip to destroy Bitcoin and I think what they have achieved is for improving their infrastructure and not destroying Bitcoin. It is crucial to understand that Bitcoin has now become a global digital asset for citizens of many countries and a few governments. It is speculative to think that quantum computing will be used to destroy something that is digitally precious for everyone.