Quantum computing white paper reveals encryption risks

ME News report. On May 3 (UTC+8), Google Quantum AI’s latest white paper shows that the number of physical qubits required to break the core cryptographic system underpinning cryptocurrencies has been reduced to about 500,000, which is about 20 times lower than earlier estimates—indicating that quantum threats have become a medium-term quantifiable risk. Current attacks mainly target signature mechanisms based on Elliptic Curve Cryptography, involving in-transit transaction attacks and static asset attacks. The report notes that about 6.9 million Bitcoins (about 33% of the total) and a large number of Ethereum accounts have exposed their public keys, creating potential risk. Although there is still a gap in hardware development, algorithm optimization is continuously progressing; it is expected that Q-Day may occur between 2028 and 2035, and the bottleneck for migration lies in governance rather than technology. (Source: MLion)