- Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced Google’s Quantum Computing Chip “Willow”.
- It is capable of solving complex calculations in five minutes.
- Operates with 105 qubits, making it faster than the world’s fastest supercomputer.
Google has recently announced its new quantum computing chip “Williow” with next-generation computing capabilities. Willow can solve complex problems quickly, which would take around ten septillion years for a supercomputer to complete. Its announcement has begun to rock the boat for the cryptocurrency community. While tweets like “Bitcoin is Dead” as a joke are going viral, the real question of whether Bitcoin can be cracked, needs to be addressed. This article will walk you through the potentials of “Willow” and its power and the plight of cryptographic technology with the rise of Quantum computing.
What is Quantum Computing?
Quantum computing applies quantum mechanics to give information and solve complex calculations faster. QC uses qubits, which utilize 1, 0, and both (superposition) to allow quicker calculations than traditional computers or supercomputers. It uses features like superposition (combination of states) and Entanglement (direct relation from one qubit to another). However, the current quantum computers are not completely error-free and not strong enough to break the security of Bitcoin or other private keys, that function on cryptographic systems.
Understanding the Key Features of “Williow”
The recently announced quantum computing chip, “Willow” can be considered as a remarkable step in quantum computing. It operates using 105 qubits to gather large chunks of information and to solve complex calculations more efficiently than its traditional computing methods.
Google’s Willow chip can now solve complex problems in five minutes which the world’s fastest supercomputer may take over 10 septillion years. While it is not completely error-free, it is praised for its real-time quantum error correction. This allows the use of more qubits without increasing errors, which has been a challenge for quantum computing for more than 30 years. This chip has improved the scalability and efficiency of the system without compromising its performance levels.
Google reveals that Willow can be integrated across various fields ranging from drug discovery to artificial Intelligence. This will help industries that rely on traditional computers to improve their performance.
Can Google’s Willow Put Bitcoin at Stake?
Bitcoin functions on cryptographic technology which can be easily cracked using a quantum computer. While it is theoretically possible, several factors prevent Willow from cracking the cryptographic technology. Bitcoin uses a proof-of-work consensus mechanism, blockchain, and modern wallets, making it resistant to private key hacking and computing attacks.
Vulnerability of Satoshi’s Wallet: The Satoshi wallet holds over 1.1 million coins worth $107 Billion. These coins are stored in Pay-To-Public-Key (P2PK) Wallets, which are vulnerable to quantum attacks. Attacking wallets can reveal their public keys which could expose their private keys. As quantum technology advances, attackers may crack the security key of the wallet and access it.
What is the Current Status of the Threat?
Expert opinion suggests that at least 13 million to 317 million qubits will be required to crack the encryption of Bitcoin, which is far more than 105 qubits, that is used to build Willow. To break a cryptographic technology, around 2128 operations should be required. This can be theoretically reduced by a quantum computer using Grover’s Algorithm, which still requires more advanced resources.
Above all, Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of the bitcoin mentioned on June 14, 2010, that the SHA-256 technology is strong enough to withstand any potential attacks shortly. Moreover, Satoshi says that even if SHA-256 gets attacked, users can still reach a new agreement and restart from where the trouble started and continue with a new hash function. This suggests that Bitcoin is still safe and might require a massive technological breakthrough to attack the Bitcoin blockchain completely.
25% of the total Bitcoins in circulation are stored in P2PK wallets, which are more prone to threats and attacks, as they can be easily targeted by an advanced quantum computer. This indicates that long-term concerns may arise with advancements in technology.
Community Response and Proposed Solutions
The launch of Willow has stirred up several opinions in the crypto world with a mixed reaction in the community. While some argue about the concerns and long-term risks to be considered, others strongly believe that quantum computing has still not grown enough to attack cryptographic technologies.
However, Goggle’s Williow has prompted the community to react with several solutions to withstand and mitigate the concerns and risks associated with its security. A popular suggestion is to freeze the Satoshi Wallet, as it is stored in P2PK format, which is vulnerable to quantum attacks and exploitations.
Suggestions also arise for phasing out the P2PK wallet and transferring the holdings to secure formats. The development and implementation of quantum-resistant cryptography may be required to resolve long-term security concerns.
Conclusion
Google’s Willow chip is an advancement in quantum computers without posing threats to cryptography. Experts suggest that the recent developments in quantum computing are not efficient enough to pose immediate threats by compromising the security of modern cryptographic systems. However, the community may not be completely satisfied, which highlights the requirement of quantum-resistant encryption methods.