Some of the latest news from the cryptocurrency scene tells an interesting tale about a world race for technological advances.
Reporting today, Marie Huillet is breaking news at Cointelegraph that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) is reportedly working to create quantum-resistant cryptocurrency.
What does that mean?
Quantum computing is still somewhat in the category of science fiction, but it’s something that may prove to be one of the biggest advances of our decade, and it is moving ahead in some national labs.
In quantum computing, the conventional binary bit, which holds a value of either one or zero, is replaced by something called a ‘qubit’ that can have three values – 1, 0, or an uncertain combination of the two.
This ‘Schrödinger’s cat’ feature on its own expands the ability of computers into the stratosphere – some of the most notable capabilities of quantum computers would be instantly cracking any kind of conventional encryption, and, in terms of cryptocurrency, jeopardizing the fundamental consensus model that blockchain crypto coins are based on. That’s bad news for crypto fans!
Huillet reports that North Korea may be working on quantum computing projects like this, and notes that there’s a lot at stake:
“Cryptocurrencies have become part and parcel of stealth cyber warfare and global intelligence operations,” Huillet writes, “raising the prospect that any state agency who wins the arms race in developing a quantum-resistant cryptocurrency could secure an appreciable geopolitical edge for its country.”
The U.N. Security Council has also reported that North Korea has a history of hacking into banks and cryptocurrency exchanges.
Could quantum computing break the blockchain wide open? Don’t look for it to happen anytime soon. However, the background knowledge that quantum could theoretically compromise crypto systems can help investors to hedge against risk.
