Super computer

Have Supercomputers Doomed Cryptocurrency for Good?
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It’s been heralded for decades, but now, experts are closer than ever to reaching optimum technological capacity with supercomputers.

First posited in 1982 by physicist Richard Feynman, huge global organizations including the CIA, Google, and even NASA have confirmed they’ve started work on the IT powerhouses.

Although they’ll no doubt produce unfathomable advances in science, medicine, data analytics, and many other fields, one particular area may not be so lucky.

When supercomputers launch, what will happen to cryptocurrency?

Supercomputers Could Herald the Doom of Cryptocurrency

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Supercomputers make use of theoretical quantum mechanics, including superposition and entanglement. By doing so, they’ll be able to tackle problems and crack codes at infinitesimally greater speeds than regular digital computers.

Unfortunately, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are first on the list of quantum computing victims. Bitcoin operates on a series of keys exchanged between the sender and the recipient. When an individual wants to send bitcoin, they’ll need to attain the recipient’s public key to complete the transaction.

For an individual to spend bitcoin, they’ll need to use their private key. This is a secret piece of data used to sign transactions, which are then validated as coming from the buyer by producing a mathematical proof. If someone else learns their private key, they’ll be able to spend their bitcoin.

Understandably, this is a real concern for users of bitcoin and experts believe supercomputers will be able to crack these secret private keys quickly and with relative ease. Where gaining access to another’s private key by forced technological means has been close to impossible until now, it’s thought the quantum mechanics basis of their supercomputers will allow them to crack the keys in as little as a few minutes.

Theoretically, if someone tasked a supercomputer to crack a large number of private keys, they could gain access to a significant market share of the cryptocurrency. This would have disastrous effects on its overall stability and would no doubt lead to its outright failure.

How Big Is the Threat?
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Although the threat is no doubt present, cryptocurrency users shouldn’t worry for now. Supercomputer development may have made huge leaps recently, but scientists are still at least 10 years off producing a completed device.

Other organizations, such as Canada’s D-Wave, however, have already claimed they’ve produced supercomputers. Although yet to be recognized by the scientific community, it’s an alarming thought that’s driven cryptographers to start work on quantum-proof code.

What Can Cryptocurrencies Do?
As mentioned above, the first line of defense will be fortifying cryptocurrencies against supercomputers. Despite this technology already existing, deploying it as well as ensuring that it can keep up with the sheer speed of quantum computing is another issue altogether. As a result, only time will be able to determine cryptocurrency’s fate.

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