How should crypto prepare for Google's & # 39; Quantum Supremacy & # 39 ;?

"Quantum superiority." The term inspires images of a giant world brain supercomputer that can count the grains of sand on every beach on earth. But what does Google's official assertion of supremacy mean, and how will practical quantum computation change the cryptocurrency?

After a month of speculation, Google announced that it has built and tested a 54-kBbit quantum processor called "Sycamore." processor, which appears to be covered by a twisting mass of worms in the supercooled cryo chamber, was able to perform a complex calculation of 200 seconds. Not a big deal, right?

"From measurements in our experiment, we decided that it would take the world's fastest supercomputer 1[ads1]0,000 years to produce a similar production," Sycamore's creators wrote in a blog post.

Image via Google.

Quantum processors work by using superposition and entanglement. This weird quantum behavior essentially allows a quantum chip to process huge amounts of data at the same time. To understand it better, imagine that like Dr. Strange, a quantum processor can "see" all possible outcomes at once, and then, statistically, choose the most likely answer. This means time-consuming programs like billing big numbers – finding the two big numbers that, when multiplied, make another big number – is trivial for a quantum computer.

These machines are nothing new. Services like D-Wave's Leap allow anyone to write programs for a cloud-based quantum computer in Python, a feat that seems like science fiction. In Google's case, however, the company has achieved "quantum superiority" over almost every other machine in existence – an assertion that in theory means pretty much, and in practice, very little.

Quantum superiority means that Google has been able to perform a calculation that is impossible to do on traditional computer hardware. In other words, no "classic" computer – from the fastest mainframe to an Atari 800XL – will ever be able to complete the calculation in a reasonable amount of time, even before the universe's death or 10,000 years, whichever comes first. [19659002] "With the first quantum calculation that cannot reasonably be emulated on a classical computer, we have opened a new realm for data processing to be explored," the researchers wrote.

However, everything is not galaxy heads and AI. First, it is not clear whether Google's claims are correct or not, because to test whether they have achieved quantum supremacy, they would need to run the same problem on classic computers, which in theory would take 10,000 years. Furthermore, the problems you can traditionally solve on a quantum computer are not entirely practical. Quantum computers are good at finding the shortest path in a multi-node network, but aren't as good at playing Doom. So the comparison is never apples to apples.

But what does quantum superiority mean for crypto and crypto operations, where having a highly efficient machine gives you an advantage over everyone else?

Quantum Leap

The biggest danger of blockchain networks from quantum computing is its ability to break traditional encryption. If you really wanted to destroy cryptocurrencies, you would be aiming a quantum computer at SHA-256 – a popular hashing algorithm that creates 32-byte "hashs" with passwords, and actually turn them into unreadable gibberish (to: "5e884898da28047151d0e56f8dc6292773

Quantum computing experts look at SHA-256 as a proverbial canary in a coal mine. When real quantum utilization begins to invade systems around the world, scientists will know panic.

“Quantum computing will affect many forms of encryption including SHA-256, which is used by bitcoin. Since Bitcoin has value, people want more of an incentive to attack it. However, I think many simpler encryption algorithms will be broken first and notify the community that it's time for a change, says Patrick Dai, founder and CEO of Qtum, a business-focused blockchain provider. "Breaking the SHA-256 is not something that happens overnight. We will have a lot of warnings. Ultimately, miners will have to pay the price when the switch happens, because they are stuck with incompatible hardware, but bitcoin will continue to evolve." [19659002] Ultimately, scientists believe we are on track to break hash algorithms and even the asymmetric cryptography systems that drive our public and private keys.

"Quantum computing will force all cryptocurrency to apply new signing algorithms , as current ones (those also used by Bitcoin and Ethereum) are proven to be vulnerable to signature forgery, "said Johann Polecsak, CTO of QAN, the creators of a supposedly quantum-safe blockchain.

Vitalik Buterin, for its part, is not bullish on quantum computation.

"My phrase impression of recent quantum superiority so far is that it is to real quantum computation what hydrogen bombs are for nuclear fusion. Proof that a phenomenon and the ability to extract power from it exist, but still far from directed use at useful things, "he wrote.

My one-impression impression of recent quantum supremacy so far is that it is to quantum calculate what hydrogen bombs are Proof that a phenomenon and the ability to extract power from it exist, but still far from directed use at useful things.

– Vitalik Non-giver of Ether (@VitalikButerin) October 24 2019

"Asymmetric cryptography relies on keywords, namely a private and public key. Public keys can be calculated from their private counterpart but not vice versa. This is due to the impossibility of certain mathematical problems. Quantum computers are more effective in achieving this of magnitude, and if the calculation is done the other way (we can calculate private keys FROM public keys), the whole form is broken, this is proven and we only need there are qubits and stability in these systems, which are constantly being developed, "he said.

David Chaum, creator of Praxxis, believes that proof-of-work systems will be more resistant to quantum attacks, although wallets and keys will not.

“The hashing algorithms in ProW of Work (PoW) protocols that require mining are generally resistant to quantum computing. The more likely angle of attack for an opponent with a quantum computer is to break the security of PoW wallets or Proof of Stake (PoS) protocols, ”he said.

Quantum machines can use what is called Shor's algorithm factor for the long integers used by cryptocurrency to secure wallets. The expectation is that any player who can use quantum computing to break RSA – the cryptographic standard for the most popular platforms – is likely to keep quiet.

will destroy blockchain crypto is a fool's errand. That said, while the barriers to quantum computer development are difficult to overcome, there is no evidence that they are insurmountable. "

HE ADDED:" One day soon a quantum computer that can use Shor's algorithm to defeat many cryptosystems will be produced. The blockchain community would be foolish to ignore this threat until the day comes. NSA instructed government agencies to halt the work on quantum susceptible cryptosystems more than four years ago. The NSA takes quantum computation seriously. So should we, "Chaum said.

Quantum Leap image via Mill Creek.