Quantum computing threatens the $2 trillion Bitcoin network. BTQ Technologies says it has a defense.Currently, one of the challenges for Bitcoin is called quantum computers. Many say that quantum computers can break the Bitcoin network system and cause great damage to Bitcoin. Many also say that Bitcoin is safer than quantum computers.
A part of a news story is shared here. I would like to know from the legend community how important this issue is for the current time and whether it is a threat to Bitcoin.
Media coverage of the threat posed by quantum computing usually identifies cryptocurrencies as a key area of classical cryptography that will be effortlessly broken when the technology hits the mainstream which, according to some estimates, may be less than a decade from now.
Simply stated, computer chips based on quantum mechanics can perform some calculations exponentially faster than a traditional processor. That speed leaves much of existing cryptography, which is predicated on the time taken to solve complex equations, under threat.
Not surprisingly, there is a drive to identify approaches than can mitigate the risk, a point glossed over in much of the “parallel universe” reporting about the latest quantum chips. Among those efforts to develop quantum-resistant algorithms is to replace today's public key encryption with an alternative known as lattice-based signing.
One approach to protecting the $2 trillion Bitcoin blockchain has been unveiled by post-quantum cryptography specialist BTQ Technologies (BTQ): Bitcoin Quantum, a permissionless bitcoin fork testnet it says meet the challenge.
This is a public, runnable network where miners, developers, researchers and users can stress-test quantum-resistant transactions and surface the operational tradeoffs before any mainnet-level migration conversation becomes urgent, according to BTQ’s head of partnerships Chris Tam. The system includes a block explorer and a mining pool, providing immediate accessibility.
Two attack vectors
Quantum computing opens two attack vectors on Bitcoin: the ability to derive a private key from a public key, and attacks on the network’s proof-of-work algorithm. The algorithm is what allows miners, the participants that keep the network secure, to arrange transactions chronologically in blocks.
Given a public key, a quantum computer could quickly calculate the private key and use it steal funds, so the whole concept of security goes down the drain, Tam said.
“You're supposed to only be able to move from a private key to a public key, it's supposed to be a one way function,” Tam said in an interview. “But a quantum computer has this ability to solve what’s called the discrete logarithm problem. We assume that problem to be difficult, but unfortunately in the quantum world it's not difficult, where you get an exponential speed up in the number of qubits.”
The good news is you don’t need quantum to battle quantum, Tam said. It can be accomplished with existing computation and algorithms. Post-quantum algorithms employ the same sort of encryption mechanism and interface as today’s digital signatures, but with more robust mathematics underpinning the infrastructure, he explained.
BTQ Technologies touts quantum-proof Bitcoin testnet
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