Most in the crypto industry have spent this week studying Google’s paper on how quantum computers could break blockchain encryption. One startup asks a different question: Can quantum hardware improve blockchains?
Postquant Labs, which is building the world’s shared quantum computer, Quip.Network, announced Wednesday the launch of what it calls the first publicly available quantum classical blockchain test network, where quantum computers and existing technology work side by side to solve problems.
Quantum computers use subatomic particle physics to test many possible solutions simultaneously rather than checking them one by one, making them fundamentally different from the fastest conventional supercomputers, which are just very fast versions of the same step-by-step approach.
The testnet has already attracted 13,000 registrations from researchers at MIT, Stanford and universities around the world, according to the press release shared with CoinDesk. Of these, six teams have so far submitted serious computational work.
Postquant Labs’ attempt to study how quantum processors can improve blockchain performance contrasts with most blockchain developers who view quantum as a threat.
Perceptions of the threat grew after Google published a paper on Monday that said breaking Bitcoin’s cryptographic defenses would require fewer than 500,000 physical qubits, about 20 times fewer than previous estimates.
Note, however, that the Postquant Labs testnet is a testing environment and not a live final product. This is where researchers experiment before anything is put into production.
The testnet was built in consultation with D-Wave Quantum Inc, a leader in quantum computing systems, software and services.
“From a technical perspective, the hybrid design of the testnet is particularly interesting. Participants can contribute using QPUs, CPUs and GPUs, creating a shared environment to evaluate the performance of different computing models side-by-side,” Dr. Trevor Lanting, Director of Development at D-Wave, told CoinDesk.
“This creates an environment to better understand how quantum approaches compare to classical methods in a blockchain context, and where they can provide significant benefits such as energy efficiency or improved security,” he added.
Developers and researchers can earn QUIP tokens by solving complex mathematical problems using quantum machines, GPUs or classical processors. QUIP is meant to be a utility token that can be exchanged for computational resources provided by quantum and classical miners on the network.
If quantum computers can truly outperform classical computers at blockchain tasks – solving problems faster, using less energy and delivering better results – then the distributed ledger could become much more useful for real-world business applications, not just cryptocurrency trading.
“Today, annealing quantum computers are beginning to show performance benefits on useful optimization applications in logistics, manufacturing and beyond, often delivering better results, faster and at lower energy cost than classical solutions,” said Colton Dillion, CEO and co-founder of Postquant Labs.
“Our goal is to make this quantum advantage accessible on a blockchain network,” Dillion added.
For now, that’s a big “if.” This testnet must prove whether the quantum advantage is real or just marketing.
“The launch of the mainnet will depend entirely on the performance of the testnet, but we look forward to launching it as soon as we have proven the network’s capabilities to solve real-world problems and demonstrated that quantum demand and supply both exist on both sides of the market,” Postquant Labs told CoinDesk.
Do quantum computers exist?
Yes, it does, but not the sci-fi version that breaks Bitcoin and other blockchains or hacks banks and major financial institutions.
D-Wave’s machines are not the quantum computers in Google’s newspaper. These are annealing systems, specialized hardware for optimization problems such as route planning and resource allocation.
They can’t run Shor’s algorithm, can’t break encryption, and can’t do anything described in Google’s document. They’re good at a specific class of problems, and that’s the class Quip.Network tests for.
Postquant uses D-Wave’s Advantage2 annealing quantum computer through the company’s Leap cloud service.
In initial internal testing, Postquant claims that D-Wave’s Advantage2 system beat 80 H100 GPUs and 480 CPU cores in solution quality, solution time, and power efficiency for these specific optimization problems.
These results have not been independently verified or published. Until they are, the claim rests solely with the company.
What role does D-Wave play?
D-Wave is not a full partner or investor. and only advised Quip Network on the development of the testnet” and “provides access to the Advantage2 system and advice on the development of the testnet.”
It is important to note that D-Wave has not independently approved the overall technical architecture: its involvement is limited to providing access to hardware and consultation.
