(Wired.UK) Quantum computing could break the blockchain. Quantum technology is estimated at being tens of thousands to millions of times faster than current computers – and more power means tasks such as breaking encryption becomes massively easier. The blockchain is particularly vulnerable because it has a single point of failure – all the blocks are freely available for criminal organizations or surveillance operatives to gather. Right now, they can’t do anything with them because they are encrypted.
The technology to defend against quantum attacks already exists in the form of precursors to quantum-crypto such as hash-based cryptography, code-based cryptography, lattice-based cryptography, multivariate cryptography, and supersingular elliptic curve isogeny cryptography. Although quantum computing seems to undermine the security of the blockchain, the answer could be to combine the two technologies and create a better whole.
Time to Protect the Blockchain from Quantum Technology
