- PsiQuantum has broken ground on a Chicago facility designed to house a 1 million-qubit quantum computer that some scientists say could crack Bitcoin‘s cryptography.
- The company raised $1 billion for the project and stated it has no plans to use the technology to attack Bitcoin or derive private keys.
- Research estimates only around 10,230 Bitcoin, worth approximately $728 million, is both quantum-vulnerable and currently at legitimate risk.
- Bitcoin developers are actively discussing potential defensive measures, including a hard fork, against future quantum threats.
The quantum computing firm PsiQuantum is advancing its ambitious plan to build the world’s first commercially useful quantum computer, breaking ground this week on a massive new facility in Chicago. This 1 million-qubit system, which co-founder Peter Shadbolt announced is under rapid construction, is considered powerful enough by scientists to potentially break Bitcoin’s cryptographic security. The company raised $1 billion last September to build the error-correcting facility in collaboration with NVIDIA.
Consequently, the Bitcoin community is debating the real-world risk of such a powerful machine. Some experts, like Blockstream CEO Adam Back, believe quantum computers won’t pose a real threat for at least a decade. However, Bitcoin developers are currently discussing whether to implement defensive measures like a hard fork.
Estimates for the qubits required to crack encryption are dropping as research advances, with a recent scientific paper arguing that around 100,000 qubits could break 2048-bit keys. PsiQuantum co-founder Terry Rudolph said the company has no plans to attack Bitcoin, stating, “We do not have plans.”
Meanwhile, analysis from crypto asset manager CoinShares found only a limited portion of Bitcoin is immediately vulnerable. Their February research concluded only 10,230 Bitcoin, worth about $728 million, is both quantum-vulnerable and sitting in addresses with visible public keys. CoinShares noted a selloff of that size would resemble a routine market trade.
✅ Follow BITNEWSBOT on Telegram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X.com, and Google News for instant updates.
