Google Paper Warns Crypto on Quantum Risk Ahead of 2029 Timeline

Google researchers warned that future quantum computers may be able to break some of the cryptography protecting Bitcoin and other digital assets with fewer resources than previously thought, adding urgency to the debate over how the industry should prepare.

The researchers did not indicate such a machine exists today, but said new work suggests the computing power needed to carry out that kind of attack may be lower than many earlier estimates had suggested.

In a Google Research blog post, the researchers said a future quantum computer could break elliptic-curve cryptography, a form of public-key encryption technique used across ...