Crypto industry braces for quantum computing threat

{"text":[[{"start":7.65,"text":"Cryptocurrency companies are preparing for the threat that powerful quantum computers could soon be able to hack the security at the heart of the global industry, including breaking the critical code that underpins bitcoin."}],[{"start":19.15,"text":"The risk to crypto posed by fast-developing quantum technology — which exploits the way the physics of matter works differently at atomic and subatomic levels — was once considered a distant possibility, with bitcoin widely seen as unhackable. "}],[{"start":33.099999999999994,"text":"But digital assets firms are speeding up their preparations for a “post-quantum” age, as tech companies slash the timelines for developing practical quantum computers to as soon as 2030. "}],[{"start":43.8,"text":"“The threat has moved from theoretical to credible,” said Ayo Akinyele, head of engineering at RippleX, the blockchain development arm of crypto group Ripple. The company is exploring post-quantum cryptography, with securing wallets as its first priority, and expects to transition its infrastructure to this within the next two years."}],[{"start":63.65,"text":"The risk is especially stark for the crypto industry because theft from blockchains can be anonymous and irretrievable, whereas traditional finance institutions generally have multiple safeguards allowing them to track and stop money flows. The quantum threat is becoming more stark as traditional financial firms such as big banks invest in blockchain-based technology and explore the use of digital tokens."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":90.55,"text":"While traditional computers use binary “bits” limited to adopting one of two values denoted zero or one, quantum bits, or “qubits”, can exist in all possible states between those numbers. This means quantum computers can handle calculations involving much larger volumes of data, theoretically enabling them to unscramble the multiplications of large prime numbers that underpin existing cryptography."}],[{"start":116.85,"text":"The focus on the threat to crypto has grown as quantum computer developers have predicted useful machines could be built as soon as 2030, although sceptics point to big remaining technical hurdles, notably the need to cut the computers’ error rates."}],[{"start":132.15,"text":"“The challenge is no longer ‘a decade away’ as thought earlier,” said Gautam Chhugani, senior analyst of global digital assets at Bernstein, adding that the crypto industry would need three to five years and investments of “several billions if not hundreds of billions” of dollars in order to prepare. "}],[{"start":151.25,"text":"A paper published by Google in April laid out the risks for the crypto industry. The researchers found that quantum computers could break cryptography with fewer resources than previously suggested, and identified specific vulnerabilities for cryptocurrencies and their digital infrastructure."}],[{"start":168,"text":"“We want to raise awareness on this issue and are providing the cryptocurrency community with recommendations to improve security and stability,” wrote the paper’s lead author, Ryan Babbush. "}],[{"start":179.5,"text":"Crypto is vulnerable to the quantum threat because of the structure of digital wallets, where users keep their holdings. Each wallet has two keys — a public key that serves as the user’s address, where coins can be sent, and a private key that is kept secret by the user and allows access to their holdings. Quantum computers could potentially decrypt private keys, allowing attackers to steal funds."}],[{"start":205,"text":"“The integrity of cryptocurrencies is clearly quite a big issue,” said Alex van Someren, executive chair of quantum computing company Photonic and a former chief scientific adviser to the UK government on national security. "}],[{"start":219.25,"text":"“Cryptographic blockchains depend on these kinds of algorithms for their security — and for the integrity and ultimately therefore the auditability of previous transactions.” "}],[{"start":229.3,"text":"Crypto companies have jumped into action following the publication of Google’s research. Along with Ripple, stablecoin issuer Circle and crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun’s Tron group are among companies that have detailed plans to make their businesses quantum secure. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":245.05,"text":"The Ethereum Foundation, which oversees one of the world’s biggest blockchains, has launched a post-quantum team and roadmap, while Circle is preparing its blockchain Arc for a post-quantum world, starting by creating quantum-resistant crypto wallets. "}],[{"start":259.55,"text":"“There are ways to make a quantum computer’s life much more difficult,” said Sebastian Weidt, chief executive of quantum computing company Universal Quantum. Researchers have created “protocols that a quantum computer will find very difficult to break — it’s just the particular type of maths the machine needs to carry out, [which] it doesn’t really like”, he said."}],[{"start":280.15000000000003,"text":"The biggest challenge is for bitcoin, which is heavily decentralised and not run by a single entity. Industry leaders warn that significant co-ordination will be needed to implement secure cryptography for bitcoin, but that such co-ordination has yet to emerge."}],[{"start":294.35,"text":"“It’s leaderless,” said RippleX’s Akinyele, adding that while “there are a lot of voices” and various proposals have been put forward on how to secure bitcoin, “there’s no clear proposal that will protect bitcoin holders across the board”."}],[{"start":309.5,"text":"Meanwhile, some remain sceptical of the quantum threat. "}],[{"start":313.15,"text":"“It’s a theoretical computer that doesn’t exist yet,” said Kostas Chalkias, chief cryptographer at crypto infrastructure company Mysten Labs. “The danger is decades away,” he added, while vulnerabilities to AI are a bigger problem and “far more dangerous than what people believe”. "}],[{"start":330.34999999999997,"text":"Akinyele said sceptics were ignoring the power of artificial intelligence, pointing to Nvidia’s launch last month of new AI models to “accelerate the path” to quantum computers. "}],[{"start":341.29999999999995,"text":"“AI is being leveraged to help with the quantum threat,” he said. “This is a threat that we can’t afford to be reactive against.”"}],[{"start":349.29999999999995,"text":"Additional reporting by Jill R Shah in New York"}],[{"start":359.6499999999999,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779436976_4283.mp3"}