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It's an established fact that for any computing task you intend to do, the faster your computer is, the faster the task can be completed. The crypto industry relies 100% on computers, and to some extent, those with the most powerful computers have an advantage in certain aspects of the industry, such as mining and even security. But what type of advantage can the fastest computers in the world provide to crypto heads? If you could gain access, for example, to Google’s Willow quantum computer that runs on 105 qubits, can you mine faster or hack the entire network and delete the database?
Impact on Security
Quantum computers can indeed pose a significant threat to Bitcoin's encryption and give hackers the chance to steal funds. Bitcoin's encryption, the elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), creates private keys that are used to secure individual modes on the blockchain and secure users' funds. Quantum computers can break the algorithm that backs ECC encryption, making it easier for attackers to access individual nodes and steal funds. When one transacts with bitcoin, they in some cases have to reveal their public key, which is part of the encryption that secures their entire node of the chain. Using an extremely powerful quantum computer, it's possible for hackers to figure out a user's private key from their public key and steal funds from them. For seasoned hackers and crypto scammers, quantum computers can make their work relatively easier.
Impact on Mining
Quantum computers, no matter how powerful, are unlikely to provide a major advantage over classical computers when used for mining. While speed is important, a number of other factors are often in play, meaning fast computers can be beneficial only to some extent. Advanced algorithms that are used in mining have too many components for speed to be the only concern. Speed can improve the effectiveness of brute force attacks, but numerous other factors often determine the ease of mining. Miners are therefore not going to make a killing by simply having a quantum computer.
Safety of the Entire Blockchain Database
To delete or modify the entire blockchain database, a hacker would need to control at least 51% of the blockchain network mining power. This is out of the question for ordinary computers due to the magnitude of computational power needed to do this successfully. A quantum computer can, however, make a decent attempt but would still largely fall short. Based on the quantum technology in place today, it is almost impossible for any known computer to successfully take over most of the network. Deleting a single node of the network changes nothing since all other nodes have the exact same information. Unless there are dramatic improvements in quantum computing technology, bitcoin and most other cryptocurrencies are relatively safe.
The State of Quantum Computing
While quantum computers have some of the most insane computational power, it’s unlikely that they can pose a major threat to crypto. They can, however, make it easier to steal from individual crypto holders without threatening the operations of the entire network. New encryption systems that can withstand attacks from quantum computers are also being quickly developed. Crypto is therefore here to stay, despite how popular quantum computers become in the future.
