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Researchers halve quantum resource benchmark for key operation in Bitcoin, Ethereum attack
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 2 sources. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◎ Multiple-sources
A group of researchers has cut the estimated resources needed for a key operation involved in a potential quantum attack on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Key facts
- Over roughly two months, submissions to a public challenge brought that score down 86%, from 10.75 billion to 1.496 billion
- More than 100 people contributed to the challenge, including researchers and developers affiliated with the Ethereum Foundation, Eigen Labs, StarkWare, Starknet Foundation, Theta Labs, Brevis, Sei
- Google Quantum AI published its own estimates in March, setting a 2029 target for migration to post-quantum cryptography, but didn't release the circuit behind them
- Eigen Labs used that software to launch ECDSA.Fail on May 30, allowing researchers to submit improvements
Summary
The researchers measure the circuit's resource cost by combining the number of logical qubits it needs, which act as its working memory, with the number of Toffoli gates, the operations that account for much of its runtime. Google Quantum AI published its own estimates in March, setting a 2029 target for migration to post-quantum cryptography, but didn't release the circuit behind them. More than 100 people contributed to the challenge, including researchers and developers affiliated with the Ethereum Foundation, Eigen Labs, StarkWare, Starknet Foundation, Theta Labs, Brevis, Sei Labs, and Trail of Bits. The authors stressed that this process is not an attack.