Google's recent release of the quantum computing chip Willow has once again sparked discussions within the community about whether 'quantum computing will destroy Bitcoin.' To help readers understand why quantum computing will not currently destroy Bitcoin from multiple perspectives, Wu said Blockchain has compiled the views of three KOLs.

Summary

Quantum computing currently will not destroy Bitcoin, but there are potential threats. Quantum computing capabilities are still insufficient to crack Bitcoin's hash and signature mechanisms, so security is currently not in jeopardy. However, Satoshi Nakamoto's million Bitcoins, due to the use of early public key formats (P2PK), are at risk of being compromised by quantum computing. The community can respond to future challenges by introducing quantum-resistant encryption or hard forks to freeze relevant assets.

Avalanche founder @el33th4xor

Despite the amazing advancements in quantum computing, it does not currently pose a threat to cryptocurrency security for the following reasons:

1． Differences in computational characteristics: Although quantum computing has significant advantages in specific operations like factorization, it remains challenging in other operations like inverting one-way hash functions. Additionally, the attack window for quantum computing is very brief, making attacks extremely difficult.

2． Designed for quantum resistance: Systems like Bitcoin only reveal the hash of the public key before a transaction, not the public key itself, protecting the security of static funds. The public key is only revealed after the transaction is broadcast, and a quantum attacker needs to crack the key within a very short time. For Bitcoin, this window is about 5 to 30 minutes; in Avalanche, it is only 1 second.

3． Future defense solutions: Avalanche has submitted a request on GitHub to introduce quantum-resistant Lattice encryption; although the signature size is larger, the technology is well-prepared.

4． Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin issue: The early adopted 'Pay to Public Key' (P2PK) format has risks; as quantum computing threats increase, the Bitcoin community may consider freezing these old format Bitcoins.

HashKey Group Chief Analyst Jeffrey Hu

The Bitcoin protocol can be simplified into two parts: mining (hash-based) and transactions (elliptic curve signatures), both of which may be affected by quantum algorithms:

1． Current computing power is insufficient: Attacking Bitcoin requires millions of physical quantum bits, while the Willow chip has only 105 physical quantum bits, far from reaching a threatening level.

2． Limited impact on mining: While Grover's algorithm can accelerate hash collisions, it does not crack hash rules; it is simply like a more powerful mining machine.

3． Signature security: Both old P2PK and the latest P2TR need to be cautious, but formats based on hashes like P2PKH and P2SH are relatively safe. Address reuse can lead to risks, so good usage habits are recommended, such as one key at a time, and transferring assets to more secure segregated witness addresses.

4． Future feasible measures: Introducing hash-based Lamport signatures or quantum-resistant Lattice encryption can be upgraded through soft forks.

Tsinghua University Associate Professor Hu Yilin

The quantum-resistant upgrade for Bitcoin may be difficult to fully resolve through soft forks, primarily facing the following challenges:

1． Old coin risk: Addresses with balances that have previously exposed public keys may become unable to transfer funds in a timely manner due to users losing private keys or negligence, leading to a large number of 'revived' coins impacting the market. This requires a hard fork to permanently seal these old coins.

2． First mover advantage: Early adopters of quantum computers may concentrate on seizing all dormant coins, which would have a dramatic impact on the market, especially if these technologies are controlled by large companies or governments.#市场调整后的方向