Most of the crypto industry spent this week processing Google’s paper on how quantum computers could break blockchain encryption. A startup asks a different question: whether quantum hardware can improve blockchains.
Postquant Labs, which is building the world’s shared quantum computer, Quip.Network, on Wednesday announced the launch of what it calls the first publicly available classical quantum blockchain testnet, where quantum computers and legacy technology work side by side to solve problems.
Quantum computers use the physics of subatomic particles to test many possible solutions simultaneously rather than checking them one by one, making them fundamentally different from even the fastest conventional supercomputers, which are nothing more than very fast versions of the same step-by-step approach.
The testnet has already attracted 13,000 registrations from researchers at MIT, Stanford, and universities around the world, according to the press release shared with CoinDesk. Of them, six teams have so far presented serious computational work.
Postquant Labs’ attempt to investigate how quantum processors can improve blockchain performance contrasts with most blockchain developers who view quantum technology as a threat.
Threat perception has multiplied after Google published a paper on Monday that found that breaking bitcoin’s cryptographic defenses would require fewer than 500,000 physical qubits, roughly a 20-fold reduction from previous estimates.
However, please note that the Postquant Labs testnet is a testing environment, not a live final product. It’s where researchers experiment before something goes into production.
The testnet was created in consultation with D-Wave Quantum Inc, a leader in quantum computing systems, software and services.
“From a technical perspective, the hybrid testnet design is particularly interesting. Participants can contribute using QPUs, CPUs and GPUs, creating a shared environment to evaluate how different computing models perform side by side,” Dr. Trevor Lanting, director of development at D-Wave, told CoinDesk.
“This creates an environment that helps to better understand how quantum approaches compare to classical methods in a blockchain environment, and where they can provide significant benefits, such as increased energy efficiency or security,” he added.
Developers and researchers can earn QUIP tokens by solving complex mathematical problems using quantum machines, GPUs, or regular CPUs. QUIP is intended to be a utility token that can be exchanged for computing resources provided by classical and quantum miners on the network.
If quantum computers can truly outperform regular computers at blockchain tasks (solving problems faster, using less energy, and delivering better results), then the distributed ledger could become much more useful for real business applications, not just cryptocurrency trading.
“Today, annealing quantum computers are starting to show performance advantages in useful optimization applications in logistics, manufacturing and more, often delivering better results, faster and at a lower energy cost than classical solutions,” said Colton Dillion, CEO and co-founder of Postquant Labs.
“Our goal is to make this quantum advantage accessible through a blockchain network,” Dillion added.
For now, that’s a big “if.” This test network needs to demonstrate whether the quantum advantage is real or just marketing.
“The launch of the Mainnet will depend entirely on the performance of the testnet, but we are eager to launch as soon as we have demonstrated the network’s capabilities in solving real-world problems and have demonstrated that quantum supply and demand exist on both sides of the market,” Postquant Labs told CoinDesk.
Do quantum computers exist?
Yes, they do, but not the science fiction version that breaks Bitcoin and other blockchains or hacks banks and major financial institutions.
D-Wave machines are not the quantum computers in the Google article. They are annealing systems, specialized hardware for optimization problems such as route planning and resource allocation.
They can’t run Shor’s algorithm, they can’t break encryption, and they can’t do anything the Google doc describes. They are good at a specific class of problem, and that is the class Quip.Network is testing.
Postquant is using D-Wave’s Advantage2 annealing quantum computer through the company’s Leap cloud service.
In early internal testing, Postquant says D-Wave’s Advantage2 system outperformed 80 H100 GPUs and 480 CPU cores in solution quality, solution time, and power efficiency for these specific optimization problems.
Those results have not been independently verified or published. Until they are, the claim is the company’s alone.
What role does D-Wave play?
D-Wave is not a full partner or investor. and has only advised Quip Network on testnet development” and is “providing access to the Advantage2 system and consultation on testnet development.”
Importantly, D-Wave has not independently supported the overall technical architecture; Your participation is limited to providing hardware access and consultation.
