Google has sounded the quantum alarm Today, they released groundbreaking progress towards breaking crypto using a quantum computer. TLDR - Existing cryptography is dead. Mempool attacks are real. We must migrate to post-quantum now. Thread

Here is the scariest development We thought quantum attacks could take months, meaning transactions were safe and only 1/3 of BTC were at risk. Now a quantum computer could crack private keys in 9 mins. Bitcoin’s avg block time is 10 mins. Mempool attacks just became real.

Read the highlighted below from Google. Not a startup, doomsayer, or FUDster. GOOGLE. Quantum computers will be able to break into the top 1,000 Ethereum wallets in less than 9 days.

Google notes that quantum progress will be swift. We will not have any additional warning signs or canaries in the coal mine. This is it. The “ha ha your quantum computer can’t factor 21” folks should take note.

Google also published new resource estimates for breaking crypto: 1,200 logical qubits or 1,450 logical qubits depending on the architecture. This is a 10x improvement over the best previously published work. All your models are destroyed.

Google considers the underlying quantum circuits too dangerous to publish… This is the FIRST time this has happened in quantum resource estimation. Google is treating blockchains like a security vulnerability that will be exploited.

Google used the Project Eleven Bitcoin Risq List to identify the ~6.7 million BTC vulnerable to at-rest attacks. 1.7 million BTC sits in P2PK scripts (including Satoshi-era mining rewards) with public keys permanently exposed onchain.

Project Eleven's research and Bitcoin Risq List are referenced in the paper, and our CEO and CTO are acknowledged. Thank you @Google Quantum AI @UC Berkeley @Ethereum Foundation @Justin Drake @Stanford University @Dan Boneh for publishing this research, and for your responsible disclosure.

Read the full paper. Seriously. https://research.google/blog/safeguarding-cryptocurrency-by-disclosing-quantum-vulnerabilities-responsibly/…