With Microsoft's new chip shortening the time for Bitcoin to resist quantum

Alexander Leishman, CEO of River, stated that although the threat of quantum cryptocurrency is still many years away, solutions need to be discussed now.

According to the Bitcoin exchange River, Microsoft's new quantum computer chip could accelerate the timeline for making Bitcoin quantum-resistant.

According to Cointelegraph, Microsoft launched the Majorana 1 quantum computing (QC) chip on February 19, joining a group of other companies pursuing this technology, including Google, which launched the Willow chip in December.

In a post on February 20 on X, River stated that while breakthroughs in quantum computing that threaten cryptography are still many years away, the new chip could shorten that timeline.

“The Majorana 1 chip is still far from that scale, but could reach 1 million by 2027-2029 [...] When running for a few days to a few weeks, a 1 million qubit QC is capable of breaking Bitcoin addresses through a remote attack,” the report said.

“This breakthrough shortens the time for Bitcoin to resist quantum. Even if it takes a decade, addressing vulnerabilities early is crucial,” the platform stated.

Quantum threat overblown, critics say

The fear that quantum computers could lead to a buffet for cryptocurrency criminals is not new, but critics of this theory argue that it will not be an issue in the future. #Microsoft