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> It would also be the absolute end of Bitcoin and derivatives, at least as far as I know. Not really, because bitcoin only relies on the signature aspect of P
by jamoes 12y ago
> It would also be the absolute end of Bitcoin and derivatives, at least as far as I know.
Not really, because bitcoin only relies on the signature aspect of PKC. So, bitcoin could move over to Lamport signatures, which are not affected by quantum computing.
Lamport signatures are larger than ECDSA signatures, so blockchain bloat would be an issue. But presumably by then hard drives and all other computing specs would have increased substantially.
Here's an interesting article by Vitalik Buterin which explains how the transition could take place: http://bitcoinmagazine.com/6021/bitcoin-is-not-quantum-safe-and-how-we-can-fix/ http://bitcoinmagazine.com/6021/bitcoin-is-not-quantum-safe-...
- glomph 12y agoCould you describe how such a cross over could happen smoothly? Seems like there would be mass panic, all the mining rigs would have to re assemble etc.
- api 12y agoThat's really the problem I foresee. It'd be extremely hard to pull off without a bank run or a speculative frenzy. Financial markets are unbelievably skittish about uncertainties.
- im3w1l 12y agoAnnounce a transition time a few years into the future so the miners don't get a capital loss. Code clients to switch over to the new algorithm at the transition time. When the transition finally comes, even those with slightly out of date client will switch over, since it was coded far in advance.