Lately, Mission Eleven (a quantum computing analysis group) introduced a 1 bitcoin reward for the primary staff in a position to full a problem to show breaking a ECC (elliptic curve cryptograph) key utilizing Shor’s algorithm on a quantum laptop.
The deadline for this problem is April fifth, 2026, which means to be able to qualify for the prize a staff should show breaking a key pair it should be executed earlier than that deadline.
That is frankly a very absurd and meaningless prize for numerous causes, the primary of which is the deadline of just below a yr from in the present day. Even extremely optimistic projections concerning the progress of quantum computing put the timeline of virtually reaching such a aim at extra like 5-10 years. Anticipating a workable proof of idea demonstration that truly breaks a keypair in a single yr is fairly laughable at face worth, even should you do view quantum computing as a fabric menace within the brief time period.
Subsequent is the issue of financial incentives. A single bitcoin is at the moment value roughly $80,000. That’s frankly not some huge cash within the grand scheme of issues. Particularly with regards to the applying of a leading edge expertise like quantum computing that may carry out a complete class of computation exponentially sooner than a classical laptop. Think about how way more helpful issues might be executed with a working quantum laptop.
You would snoop on web connections no matter TLS, breaking safe connections to banks, fairness brokerages, personal company networks not utilizing post-quantum cryptography. You would break each personal messenger software on the planet, you can decrypt any PGP encrypted message despatched over electronic mail that you just knew the general public key for. You would break your complete DNS system’s certificates authority hierarchy, permitting you to impersonate any server on the planet a person tries to connect with.
All of this stuff have immeasurable worth past only a mere $84,000. Why on Earth would somebody with a working quantum laptop publicly reveal that truth to assert a single bitcoin after they may make the most of all these different issues they’d be able to doing?
Okay, let’s sweep all of these prospects apart and faux your complete world magically migrates to post-quantum cryptography other than Bitcoin. It nonetheless is mindless to attempt to publicly declare this prize you probably have a purposeful quantum laptop.
Let’s assume you’ve a barely performant sufficient quantum laptop, that it takes a good period of time to crack a single key. What number of naked public keys are there securing 50 BTC outputs from the primary mining epoch? THOUSANDS of them. Why on Earth would you crack one, after which go inform everybody publicly to assert a single bitcoin? You’d simply attempt to crack as lots of these early coinbase rewards as attainable earlier than individuals detected you.
Lastly, the timetable by itself is simply absurd. Quantum computer systems at the moment usually are not even able to factoring prime numbers that individuals can do themselves of their heads mentally. In a single yr the expertise goes to leap from that to cracking Bitcoin keys? That’s absurd.
So what the hell is the purpose of this prize besides some publicity stunt? It’s totally meaningless as a critical bounty to operate as a canary within the coalmine for us, regardless of how involved or unconcerned you might be with the timeframes of quantum computer systems as a menace.
This bounty is a joke.
This text is a Take. Opinions expressed are totally the writer’s and don’t essentially replicate these of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Journal.
