Quantum computing is a risk factor for every encrypted system on the planet, including major banks. But cryptocurrencies, because of the way they work, may be the technology tested first.
“Cryptocurrencies are the canary in the coal mine,” Eddy Zervigon, CEO of Quantum Xchange, said in an interview with CoinDesk. Zervigon’s company builds infrastructure to protect networks, including financial ones, from quantum attacks, and he is upfront about where the first victim is likely to appear.
“That’s the first place to attack because of the decentralized nature,” Zervigon said. “Once you see this happening there, then you know that someone somewhere has a cryptographically relevant quantum computer.”
There is not yet a cryptographically relevant quantum computer capable of breaking the elliptic curve cryptography that underpins the signatures of the Bitcoin blockchain, along with the encryption that protects banking barriers. The consensus estimate for when it will happen is to compress, not stretch.
“People spending billions of dollars, like Microsoft, IBM and others developing quantum computers, generally believe that there will be a commercially relevant and cryptographically relevant quantum computer in the period of 2029,” Zervigon said. “I’m not the one who invents things. That’s based on what people like Arvind Krishna at IBM have said.”
