Quantum computing may be a closer threat for bitcoin than previously thought.

In a Tuesday blog, Google researchers said quantum computers may break the encryption that keeps bitcoin and other digital assets secure using fewer resources than previously estimated.

The researchers noted a 20-fold reduction in the number of quantum resources required to solve ECDLP-256, the mathematical problem that most blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies currently rely on for critical aspects of their security.

Meanwhile, about 6.9 million bitcoin, currently worth some $468 billion, are sitting in wallet addresses vulnerable to quantum attacks, according to a new Google whitepaper linked from the blog. Bitcoin was trading near $68,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.

In some scenarios, a powerful quantum computer could crack a bitcoin private key-a complex, long password made up of numbers and letters-in roughly nine minutes once a user's public key is exposed, according to the whitepaper.

While a quantum computer capable of these attacks doesn't exist today, experts warn that the window for preparation is shrinking. Advances in the nascent technology are moving faster than previously realized but upgrading decentralized systems like blockchains could take years, they say.

"The timelines are pushing from both ends. The quantum computers are getting more capable," said Alex Pruden, chief executive of Project Eleven, a company that aims to secure digital assets from quantum-computing threats. "It breaks the entire cryptographic system of ownership that defines blockchains, and this is exactly why it's so existential."

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source: https://www.tradingview.com/news/DJN_DN20260331010045:0/