Google's latest research warning: demand for quantum cracking hardware decreases by 20 times, transformation in the cryptocurrency industry before 2029 is urgent and cannot be delayed.

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US) has issued a new study warning that future quantum computers may be able to break some encryption technologies used to protect Bitcoin and other digital assets with fewer resources than previously expected. This discovery adds urgency to how the industry should prepare in advance. Researchers did not indicate that such devices currently exist, but they pointed out that the latest research suggests that the computing power required to launch such attacks may be much lower than previously estimated. In an article published on the Alphabet Inc. Class C research blog, researchers stated that future quantum computers could potentially break elliptic curve encryption - a widely used public key encryption technology in the current market. Their latest estimates show that the quantum computing hardware required to break ECDLP-256 (a key mathematical problem used to protect encrypted wallets and transactions) could be reduced by about twenty times compared to previous expectations. This does not mean that Bitcoin or Ethereum will be immediately exposed to risks. However, in a white paper published on Monday, researchers pointed out that the most clear-cut way to address this is to migrate to "post-quantum cryptography." This is a new security mechanism designed to defend against attacks from powerful quantum computers. They also urged the cryptocurrency industry to reduce all avoidable risks during this period. They stated, "We urge all at-risk cryptocurrency communities to take action immediately and migrate to post-quantum cryptography." Alphabet Inc. Class C positioned this paper as a warning, leaving time for the industry to respond and not as a prophecy of an imminent system collapse. Last week, the tech giant announced plans to fully migrate its security system to post-quantum cryptography by 2029. Concerns about quantum computing posing a real threat to cryptocurrencies have been ongoing for many years. In January this year, Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN.US) established an independent advisory board to specifically study the impact of quantum computing on blockchain. Also in the same month, Christopher Wood, the global head of equity strategy at Jefferies Financial Group Inc., reduced the allocation of Bitcoin in his model portfolio by 10% due to the potential weakening of the token's fundamental security by quantum computing. On Tuesday, Bitcoin was not affected by the news related to the Alphabet Inc. Class C paper and rose by 2.6% to around $68,300 at one point. As of the time of writing, the token was hovering around $67,700. Although researchers pointed out that the time remaining before quantum computers actually emerge seems to be longer than the time required to migrate public blockchains to post-quantum cryptography, the current "margin of error is becoming narrower and narrower." In the face of the speed of technological developments, developers, exchanges, and wallet providers should accelerate the fortification of their systems to avoid being caught off guard when the threat materializes. CoinShares investment strategist Matthew Kimmell stated that the warning signals released in the report imply that the industry needs to maintain a "responsible sense of urgency." "The window for technological implementation is narrowing and becoming increasingly clear and credible," he said. "The significance of this research is that it compresses the cycle of advancing research and finalizing action plans for the industry. The good news is that there is still room to solve this issue." The research team also mentioned that the industry has begun preliminary arrangements, including post-quantum encryption projects such as QRL and Abelian, research and development related to Algorand, as well as experimental explorations of Solana and XRP ledgers. "These pioneering projects demonstrate that the transition to post-quantum cryptography is feasible," the researchers wrote.