Bitcoin could fall victim to quantum computers sooner than expected. Now crypto investors are turning to these alternative coins
Bitcoin has been the king of cryptocurrencies since its inception. And despite its high volatility, the token generally benefits from faith among investors that its underlying encryption is sound—w...
Source: www.fastcompany.com
Bitcoin has been the king of cryptocurrencies since its inception. And despite its high volatility, the token generally benefits from faith among investors that its underlying encryption is sound—which in turn protects digital coins from being stolen from wallets. But a recent report from Google suggests that Bitcoin’s relative security could soon be compromised by quantum computers, prompting investors to shift their attention to “quantum-resistant” tokens. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? Yesterday, Google published a blog post warning that Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies may be vulnerable to quantum computers sooner than previously expected. Specifically, Google announced that quantum computers with just 500,000 qubits of processing power could crack Bitcoin’s elliptic-curve cryptography within minutes. And this could happen before the decade is out. Google’s blog post may have sent shivers down the spines of many crypto investors. While experts have l