(BitRates.com) Quantum computers have serious implications for blockchain technology, which relies on cryptography. This comprehensive article, a first in a two-part series, discusses how quantum computers could be used to crack the encryption schemes that are currently used to secure crypto addresses.
At the moment, hundreds of thousands of Bitcoin miners compete on the network, meaning that no one person has significant control over the Bitcoin blockchain. However, a quantum computer that is powerful enough could conceivably dominate a large mining network single-handedly.
Positively, the author provides a few reasons why quantum computers are unlikely to accomplish an attack on a mining network. First of all, someone would have to program a quantum computer to mine Bitcoin more efficiently than ASICs and traditional computers. This is no small task.
Secondly by the time quantum computers become available, those would be used by many different nodes on a mining network — and no single quantum computer would pose a threat to the rest of the network.
Alternative solutions are discussed: Proof-of-stroke, hybrid consensus mechanisms, quantum blockchains that rely on quantum mechanics at a fundamental level.
The author concludes positively: Quantum computing could be used to secure blockchain platforms in ways that have never been seen before, although it will take time for these innovations to be realized.
How the Blockchain Can Resist Quantum Dominance
