What would you do if one day the Bitcoin in your hand could be cracked by quantum computers? The recent hot topic in the crypto circle is the potential threat of quantum computing to the SHA-256 encryption algorithm. On August 2, 2025, Musk posed this question directly to the AI assistant Grok on the X platform, attracting over 560,000 views in a short time. SHA-256 is the core mechanism used by Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others to ensure data integrity and security. It can convert data of any length into a fixed-length 256-bit hash value, achieving irreversible encryption effects. Simply put, it acts like a very difficult-to-fake digital lock, providing solid protection for our digital assets. Quantum computing, based on quantum mechanics, utilizes the superposition and entanglement properties of quantum bits to process a large number of computational tasks in parallel. Theoretically, quantum computers show exponential efficiency improvements when cracking encryption algorithms. Grok mentioned that Grover's algorithm in quantum computing can reduce the 2^256 operations required to crack SHA-256 to 2^128 operations. Although 2^128 is still an astronomical number, quantum computing indeed significantly lowers the difficulty of cracking. However, Grok also cited assessments from institutions like NIST and IBM, believing that the probability of quantum computing cracking SHA-256 in the next five years is almost zero, and even by 2035, this probability will be less than 10%. The reason is that the current number of quantum bits and their stability in quantum computers are far from sufficient. The claim that SHA-256's security is truly threatened is still just a theoretical goal. Additionally, the probability of finding two different inputs that have the same hash value is extremely low, making it difficult for even quantum computing to find a breakthrough through direct attacks. In the short term, quantum computing will not pose a substantial threat to mainstream encryption algorithms. However, in the long term, technological progress is often nonlinear, and experts in the encryption field have already begun to layout "post-quantum encryption algorithms." These new algorithms are designed to counter the potential threats of quantum computing and ensure the security of digital assets. Since 2016, NIST has launched the PQC standardization project, and in the coming years, a batch of tested new algorithm standards will be released, providing stronger protection for blockchain. What do you think? Do you believe quantum computing will pose a substantial threat to cryptocurrencies in the next decade? Like and follow, and in the next issue, I will bring you a deeper interpretation of trends in the crypto industry! #加密市场回调