Google CEO Sundar Pichai has unveiled Willow, a new quantum computing chip with “breakthrough” new capabilities. This chip has sparked community concerns about cracking Bitcoin’s cryptographic algorithms.
Community members have already begun reassuring the space, acknowledging that Bitcoiners predicted this possibility years ago and that a possible security threat is still years away.
Could Google’s Willow Crack Bitcoin
This news comes from an announcement by Pichai and an accompanying blog post. Essentially, this new chip, with 105 qubits, cracked a “30-year challenge” in quantum computing.
In a test, Willow performed a computation in five minutes, while the strongest non-quantum supercomputers could not do it in ten septillion years. Could this crack Bitcoin’s security algorithm?
Willow Quantum Computing Hardware Specifications. Source: Google
To simplify matters significantly, qubits in a quantum computer have one clear advantage over bits in a normal computer. Instead of calculating solutions one at a time, it can use uncertainty and quantum entanglement to calculate many at once. In other words, Willow, with 105 qubits, could perform every calculation a 105-bit computer could, but simultaneously.
Such a device is optimized for only a few mundane tasks, but it’s astronomically successful at cracking passwords and encryption algorithms. Less sophisticated quantum computers have even broken encryption algorithms in the past. Many in the community are wondering one question: could Willow crack Bitcoin and therefore crater its use and value?
Community figures have raised these concerns before. In fact, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin discussed this problem in late October, unveiling “The Splurge” to bolster Ethereum against these threats. Already, prominent commentators like Geiger Capital have claimed that “Bitcoin is dead” thanks to Willow, but calming voices are quick to explain.
“Breaking Bitcoin’s cryptography would require millions of qubits—far beyond Google’s Willow chip, which has 105 qubits. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin community is already developing quantum-resistant solutions,” claimed user BitcoinAgile.
LionTV, a Bybit trader and crypto investor echoed these comments by pointing out these two basic facts. Simply put, Willow is years away from cracking Bitcoin’s algorithm.
Ultimately, even if Google exceeded expectations on quantum computer development, the crypto community has discussed this issue for many years. Willow is a breakthrough for this growing research area, but it’s sheer fear-mongering to claim it will defeat Bitcoin.
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