Quantum computing company PsiQuantum is one step closer to its goal of building the world’s first useful quantum computer by building a 1 million qubit quantum facility, the size scientists say is powerful enough to crack Bitcoin’s cryptography.
PsiQuantum founder Peter Shadbolt shared a photo of his Chicago site in a message to X on Thursday, saying that 500 tons of steel that will house the computer were built in six days.
PsiQuantum said in September it had raised $1 billion to build a facility in partnership with chipmaker Nvidia designed to house quantum computers that can work even if they have errors.
PsiQuantum added that the facility will house 1 million qubits of quantum computing capacity, equivalent to tens of billions of conventional computers, with the goal of making quantum computing commercially viable to support “next-generation AI supercomputers.”
Some in the Bitcoin community have warned that the advent of quantum computing could disrupt Bitcoin cryptography.
Some bitcoiners believe that such a deal could jeopardize the network, which currently supports $1.4 trillion, while others, such as Blockstream CEO Adam Back, have said that quantum computers will not pose a real threat to Bitcoin for at least a decade.
Bitcoin developers are currently debating whether to take immediate action against quantum threats through a fork, and if so, what that means.
Bitcoin (BTC) Most vulnerable to a quantum attack are Unused Transaction Output (UTXO) wallets, or coins tied to wallet addresses that have never been spent, many of which date back to when the cryptocurrency was invented.
The number of qubits needed to crack Bitcoin keys is debated, but estimates are shrinking as quantum research advances.
related to: Vitalik Buterin describes the quantum resistance roadmap for Ethereum
A pre-print scientific paper published last month claimed that it takes about 100,000 qubits to crack 2048-bit keys, while Bitcoin encryption uses 256-bit keys.
The largest quantum computer from the California Institute of Technology is 6100 qubits.
PsiQuantum has no plans to attack Bitcoin
In July, PsiQuantum co-founder Terry Rudolph said the company has no plans to use quantum computers to derive private keys from public keys.
“We don’t have a plan,” Rudolph said at Presidio Bitcoin, which is hosting the Quantum Bitcoin Summit. “You can’t hide these things either; it’s a company of hundreds.”
Only 10,000 BTC at Risk Legally: CoinShares
Even if quantum computers could crack Bitcoin, research from crypto asset manager CoinShares in February found that only 10,230 Bitcoins are both quantum-vulnerable and sitting in wallet addresses with publicly visible cryptographic keys.
CoinShares said the sale of 10,230 bitcoins, equivalent to $728.2 million at current market prices, “resembles a normal trade.”
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