What Does Google’s Quantum Chip Mean for Bitcoin?

Could Google’s new quantum computing chip “Willow” be the beginning of the end for Bitcoin (BTC)?

The internet giant introduced its quantum supercomputer called Willow, which can perform some calculations in just five minutes that classical supercomputers can take 10 septillion years (1 followed by 24 zeros).

Is Bitcoin’s Cryptography in Danger?

According to researchers at the University of Sussex, 13 million quantum bits (qubits) are required to break Bitcoin’s encryption in 1 day. Willow has only 105 qubits. This is theoretically:

124,000 Willow: Can break Bitcoin encryption in 1 day. 340 Willow: Can break in 1 year.

If quantum computers reach a scale where they can easily parse large numbers, the wallet security and transaction integrity of Bitcoin and other crypto assets could be compromised. But this requires quantum computers with billions of qubits and low error rates.

Technological Frontiers and Bug Fixing Progress

Chris Osborn, founder of Solana ecosystem project Dialect, stated that Google has made significant progress in error correction in its new quantum chip:

“Google claims to have demonstrated ‘sub-threshold’ error-correcting ability to transform physical qubits (qubits that are noisy and error-prone) into useful ‘logical’ qubits.”

According to Osborn, breaking Bitcoin’s encryption requires approximately 5,000 logical qubits to run Shor’s algorithm, meaning millions of physical qubits are needed. Google’s Willow chip currently has only 105 physical qubits.

Ethereum and Quantum Resilient Future

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, stated that the crypto industry must strengthen encryption algorithms against the threat of quantum computing:

“We are now taking more seriously the possibility that quantum computers can actually work in the medium term,” said Buterin, emphasizing the need to update the Ethereum protocol:

“Every piece of processing that relies on elliptic curves should be replaced with quantum-resistant alternatives.”

Quantum Computing and Looking to the Future

Quantum computers can perform much faster and more complex operations by taking advantage of the principles of quantum mechanics such as superposition and entanglement. With 105 qubits, Willow has taken a significant step towards a scalable quantum computer by reducing error rates.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that the quantum chip Willow has made a major breakthrough for the industry by overcoming technical problems that traditional computers have not been able to solve for 30 years:

“Willow was developed with a breakthrough innovation that makes it possible to reduce errors exponentially by using more qubits.”

For now, there is no direct threat to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but advances in quantum computing are being watched carefully.