Quantum computing poses a risk factor for every encrypted system on the planet, including major banks. But cryptography, because of the way it works, could be the technology that gets tested first.
“Cryptocurrencies are the canary in the coal mine,” said Eddy Zervigon, CEO of Quantum Xchange, in an interview with CoinDesk. Zervigo’s company builds infrastructure to protect networks, including financial ones, from quantum attacks, and he is blunt about where the first victim is likely to appear.
“It’s the primary location for attack because of its decentralized nature,” Zervigon said. “Once you see this happening there, you know that someone somewhere has a cryptographically relevant quantum computer.”
There is not yet a cryptographically relevant quantum computer capable of breaking the elliptic curve cryptography that underpins the signatures of the Bitcoin blockchain, as well as the encryption securing banking rails. The consensus estimate of when this will happen is a squeeze, not a stretch.
“Those who are spending billions of dollars, like Microsoft, IBM and others to develop quantum computers, generally believe that there will be a commercially relevant and cryptographically relevant quantum computer by 2029,” Zervigon said. “It’s not me making things up. It’s based on what people like Arvind Krishna at IBM have said.”
