March 29, 2024

Can a quantum computer crack a cryptocurrency blockchain?

Can a quantum computer crack a cryptocurrency blockchain?

For several years now, the crypto community has been frightened by the fact that one day there will be quantum computers that will hackblockchain in a few minutes, and the crypto market will come to an end. Google is considered the leader in the race for the creation of quantum computers.

September 24, 2019 American EditionThe Financial Times said the company made a breakthrough in quantum computing, achieving "quantum superiority" - an experiment that demonstrated the superiority of a quantum computer over a classical one.

Google's quantum computer was able to performcomputing in just 3 minutes 20 seconds, which would take 10,000 years for the most powerful supercomputer in the world (IBM Summit, launched in 2018, with a capacity of 200 quadrillion operations per second), and 5.7 billion years for the Google Cloud server.

Mining-Cryptocurrency.ru figured out what risks Google’s "quantum superiority" carries, how close the company is to creating a quantum computer and whether it poses a threat to blockchain networks.

The race for the first quantum computer

A quantum computer is a computing system,using quantum mechanics (the phenomena of quantum superposition and quantum entanglement) to transmit and process information. To store and process information, ordinary computers use binary units called bits, which can represent one of two possible states: 0 or 1.

Quantum computers use quantum bits(qubits), which can be 0 and 1 at the same time. This phenomenon is called superposition. Thanks to this, a quantum computer can process information thousands and millions of times faster than conventional computers.

Superposition state, which is necessary forperforming calculations is difficult to achieve and even more difficult to maintain. Physicists do this by using laser and microwave beams to get the qubits into a working state, and then using a variety of techniques to protect them from the slightest temperature fluctuations, noise and electromagnetic waves. The main technical difficulty in decoherence is that upon contact with the external environment, quantum systems become classical and make errors.

There are no full-fledged supercomputers yet - for nowonly experimental systems have been developed that work according to given algorithms. Modern technologies do not allow the creation of a quantum computer that could solve universal problems.

Quantum computing power is determinedhow many qubits a computer can use at a time. The first experiments in the late 90s were carried out on modest 2-qubit processors. Since then, the technology has been slowly but constantly improving, increasing the number of qubits.

Specialists from D-Wave created2000-qubit quantum computer; Google boasts a 72-qubit Bristlecone processor, while IBM has a 50-qubit model. Microsoft, Intel and other large technology companies and startups are also participating in the race to create a quantum computer.

Quantum computers would makepossible chemical and physical modeling, simulation of various processes, forecasting probabilities, processing colossal arrays of astronomical and any other data.

How close is Google to creating a quantum computer

An article with information about Google's success appearedon the NASA website, but was deleted after a few hours - most likely, the publication still needs to undergo preliminary review, and this can take up to several months. However, a copy of the article remained in the cache. Neither NASA nor Google have yet commented on this matter. Back in 2018, Google entered into an agreement with NASA to use the agency's supercomputers to verify calculations the company made using quantum computers.

The company itself described the recentachievement as a “milestone on the path to full-scale quantum computing” and said that progress towards a full-fledged quantum computer will now grow at “double exponential speed” - that is, faster than twice every two years.

Precise technical details on how it worksgoogle computer no. It is only known that instead of the 73-qubit Bristlecone, the company used the 53-qubit Sycamore processor. The Google computer showed the results only in a specific test with a given algorithm. The problem that the computer solved was selected specifically to demonstrate the superiority of a quantum computer. It is still not possible to use it for universal computing.

A quantum computer can crack private keys

Quantum Computers and Computing for a Long Timecalled one of the main threats to the blockchain. It is assumed that they can unravel any cryptographic algorithms in a matter of minutes and crack private keys. In this case, the blockchain will lose its main advantages - reliability and security - which would mean the death of most cryptocurrencies.

According to experts, due to the complexityalgorithms used, millions of high-quality qubit devices would be required to pose a threat to encryption. According to an analysis by the London Center for Cryptocurrency Research and Development, to hack the blockchain, a quantum computer must contain at least 1,500 qubits (and Google's quantum computer has only 53 qubits). It will take many years for such technologies to emerge. Experts believe that quantum computers will be able to crack the blockchain within 5 to 10 years.

The most vulnerable part of the blockchain is the algorithmElliptic curve digital signature (ECDSA), used to authorize transactions. Now choosing such a key (for example, a 64-digit combination of numbers and letters of different case) is considered almost impossible. With today's computers, this would take 650 million years. However, 10 minutes passing between the transaction and its processing in the blockchain is enough for quantum computers to use Shor’s algorithm to calculate the private key using the public key and redirect the transfer. But you should worry less about mining - it will be more powerful than quantum computers for a long time.

Change transaction data (rewriteblockchain) is not possible even with the help of quantum computers - this requires confirmation from other participants in the network. But with a quantum computer, for example, using Grover’s algorithm, it is possible to fork the blockchain, creating more than half of the new blocks in the network, and make the new essence the main one.

We must understand that quantum computers will notpublicly available technology. They're quite expensive—commercial builds currently cost $15 million—and they're unlikely to get cheaper anytime soon. Buyers are research and scientific centers. If they don’t sell the device to anyone, it will be difficult for them to fall into the hands of scammers. Their availability to mass buyers is still a fantastic prospect. So the only people who will be able to use quantum computers to hack the blockchain are large companies and the government.

The danger of quantum computers for blockchainpales in comparison to the threats they may pose to other encryption systems. After all, with their help, it is theoretically possible to hack communication channels, nuclear missile codes, banking systems and national security systems. Humanity may be on the verge of a quantum arms race: China has spent $10 billion on a quantum computer research center, the United States has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars in this area.

Forewarned is forearmed

While the attack of a quantum computer on the blockchain is a purely theoretical question. But even after 10 years, you don’t really need to worry.

Some researchers believe that concerns aboutThe ongoing growth of quantum computing and its implications for blockchain security have been overblown. Thus, in the oft-cited article that quantum computers will be able to hack the blockchain by 2027, there is a note that any theoretical advantage that quantum computing had over the blockchain is negated in practice by the limitations of existing hardware and the ongoing evolution of blockchain security.

In other words, technology that cansuccessfully compromising the blockchain currently operating, it always lags behind it by about ten years - when it ripens, the blockchain will develop another ten years ahead.

Here are a few ways that the blockchain can prepare for the advent of quantum computers:

  • Digital signatures can be replaced with something more quantum-stable (for example, double the key size);
  • The blockchain can switch to a more robust encryption algorithm (for example, to SHA-512 instead of the SHA-256 used in bitcoin);
  • Use of post-quantum cryptography that is resistant to quantum computing (for example, the use of Lamport, Winternitz, or Merkle tree one-time digital signatures);
  • Development of a quantum blockchain with quantum key distribution.

Most likely quantum-resistant cryptographywill appear before quantum computers capable of hacking it. Already, some projects are working on technologies that prepare the blockchain for quantum computing. For example, in August 2019, the quantum-resistant crypto coin Praxxis entered the market.

Several have also already been launched“quantum-resistant” blockchains: QAN, QRL, IOTA, ArQit, HyperCash and Starkware. They operate on different algorithms based on post-quantum cryptography. The main ones are cryptographies based on hash functions, error correction codes and lattices. Of course, none of these methods have yet been tested against an attack by a real quantum computer. Therefore, their quantum stability is still only theoretical.

Quantum computers will benefit blockchain

Fear quantum computers are about tohack the blockchain, not worth it. Due to the complexity of encryption, the number of keys, and the evolution of blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies have gained little time. It is enough to develop and test solutions.

The threat of quantum computers is likelyIt will not be as serious as it was believed. On the contrary, it can become a driver for the development of the blockchain and benefit from technology. Modern blockchains will really die, but new ones will take their place - much more advanced.

It will be years before you can useGoogle’s quantum computer is for something practical, because so far it’s just a laboratory experiment without real application. It is not clear how long it will take quantum computers to become commercially useful. And hacking encryption is an even more distant prospect.

There is no real threat in the short termhacking blockchain cryptography by quantum computers. By the time a quantum computer becomes powerful enough to jeopardize the integrity of today's blockchains, security systems will move on to quantum-robust algorithms. Blockchain is at least a decade ahead of quantum computers. Blockchains will evolve, so it is unlikely that quantum computing technology will fundamentally threaten their existence.

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