On January 26, IonQ announced the acquisition of semiconductor foundry SkyWater Technology.Pure play.”In other words, it is a company that only specializes in manufacturing chips for third parties.
According to IonQ, this integration: Accelerate quantum hardware development By securing design, packaging, and manufacturing capabilities in the United States.
Following the acquisition, IonQ expects to begin functional testing of its quantum processing unit (QPU) in 2018. 200.000 physical qubit Around 2028.
IonQ Advances in Quantum Computing
According to the statement, this new hardware will allow Enabling over 8,000 ultra-high-fidelity logic qubits. This is an important distinction because logical qubits incorporate error correction and can sustain complex calculations for long periods of time.
The company also indicated that the integration could advance chip development by up to a year. 2 million qubitsHowever, the start date of operation has not been specified.
As reported by CriptoNoticias last June, IonQ also Quantum computers with 80,000 logical qubits by 2030.
What does this progress mean for Bitcoin?
IonQ’s announcement has once again brought discussion to the relationship between advances in quantum hardware and Bitcoin security.
The relationship between physical and logical qubits is not fixed. Generally accepted standards indicate that it takes between 100 and 1,000 physical qubits to construct a single logical qubit, depending on the technology and the efficiency of error correction.
As reported by this outlet, some analysts believe around 2,000 logical qubits are needed. To break Bitcoin security. However, others differ from this amount.
For example, Charles Edwards, founder of Capriol Investments, has made his position on the issue clear. He said that “as few as 2,500 logical qubits could be sufficient.” break the algorithm SHA-256 Not Bitcoin » (It protects network mining).
Edwards added, “Bug fixes are improving exponentially every year.” He also emphasized that there is a “serious risk to Bitcoin, 50% within five to 10 years,” which is why he believes there is an urgent need to prepare the network now.
Similar estimates have been raised by scientist Anastasia Marchenkova and other reports, pointing to a lower limit of 2,300 logical qubits that could influence Bitcoin.
Other experts think quantum threats to Bitcoin are far away
A study by the University of Sussex calculates: 13 million to 300 million physical qubits It would take (a minimum of about 130,000 logical qubits) to crack the Bitcoin encryption in one day. This assumes advanced hardware and efficient error correction.
Adam Back, co-founder of Blockstream, claimed that we are “far from achieving a million-qubit computer in this decade, or perhaps in the next decade.” How to identify quantum threats 10 or 20 years from now.
In that context, IonQ’s plan does not imply an immediate breach of Bitcoin’s security, but it does strengthen it. Quantum development progresses steadily.
In this sense, Niccolo de Masi, CEO of IonQ, said that the integration with SkyWater will « Accelerating the commercialization of quantum computers It is completely fault tolerant.
(Tag translation) Bitcoin (BTC)
