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QC would break secp256k1, but you don't get the public key to target on chain, you get the hash of it. QC doesn't help there. You could attack TX in the mempool
by Canada 5y ago
QC would break secp256k1, but you don't get the public key to target on chain, you get the hash of it. QC doesn't help there. You could attack TX in the mempool as the spender reveals his public key(s), but you have very limited time to crack them.
If QC are ever built - and that is a big if, not a foregone conclusion - then these networks will react long before the quantum computers are powerful enough to attack.
- Vecr 5y agoI think that changes with Taproot though, otherwise native mutisig would not work. I suppose the mitigation would be to keep high value wallets on hashed public key addresses.
- gruez 5y ago>I think that changes with Taproot though, otherwise native mutisig would not work Can you elaborate on this? AFAIK taproot only makes it so you don't have to divulge the non-executed branches of code, but everything still uses hashes/ecdsa signatures so the threat model stays the same.
- edgyquant 5y agoAren’t there already (computationally small) quantum computers right now?
- bdamm 5y agoSimilar to how a fire cracker is exactly like ICBM, yes.
- icelancer 5y agoEven this analogy is generous.
- Canada 5y agoYes, but none of them have been able to do anything faster than a classical computer can so far. It is not clear it will ever be possible to build a QC that is.
- edgyquant 5y agoUnless Google has lied about its sycamore processor (or I’m missing something) this isn’t true. I definitely could be missing something though https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/google-quantum-computer?rebelltitem=4#rebelltitem4 https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/google-quantum-co...
- Canada 5y agoIt is my understanding that this result is disputed.
- fsh 5y agoSycamore would probably struggle to factor a two-digit number. Useful quantum computation is still very far away, if at all possible.
- Laakeri 5y agoThe sycamore is really on the border of what current classical methods can simulate. You also need to consider that the funding used for building sycamore was probably orders of magnitudes larger than the funding used to build classical competitors.
- 5y ago