IQT Panelists in Boston Debate Risk of Quantum Technology on Blockchain & Cryptocurrencies

(IQT.Blog) At Inside Quantum Technology’s Boston Summit, perhaps the liveliest panel was on the topic of the quantum threat to Blockchain. Monica Quaintance, a New York based data engineer for Kadena, which sells secure blockchain solutions for business data, and Kiran Bhagotra, a cybersecurity entrepreneur who founded ProtectBox found themselves squarely at odds over what degree of risk emerging quantum technology imposes on blockchain applications, including cryptocurrencies.
Quaintance, a former investment banker and data engineer for both the SEC and high fashion platform Rent the Runway, allowed that while blockchain encryption is sophisticated and asymmetric, it will be vulnerable to quantum hacking — just not anytime soon. Bhagotra, by sharp contrast, detailed serious cybersecurity risks that quantum technology poses for traditional cryptography, including blockchain, and conveyed a much greater sense of urgency. She insisted that the 10 minutes it takes to construct a blockchain is “a huge vulnerability window,” a claim that Quaintance disagreed with, at least for today, accusing Bhagotra of trashing cryptocurrencies.