Google has announced a significant advancement in quantum computing that poses a potential threat to Bitcoin’s security. This new technology could, theoretically, break the encryption that protects Bitcoin transactions in as little as nine minutes, raising concerns about the future of cryptocurrency security.
Google’s Quantum AI team has released research that’s causing concern in the cryptocurrency world. Their findings detail a much faster way to potentially crack the security that safeguards Bitcoin.
Researchers have discovered that a quantum computer could potentially break the security of Bitcoin by discovering private keys in about nine minutes.
Bitcoin’s average block time is ten minutes.
That narrow margin is what’s making security researchers deeply uneasy.
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Google’s Quantum Breakthrough Puts Bitcoin Encryption at Risk
The research centers on a more efficient implementation of Shor’s algorithm.
Google researchers have successfully cracked elliptic curve cryptography, a common encryption method, using a relatively small quantum computer. They achieved this with approximately 1,200 quantum bits (qubits) and 90 million Toffoli gates – a significant improvement, requiring about 20 times fewer physical qubits than previous attempts.
Previously, experts thought this was less likely to happen soon. Now, it appears the threat is much more immediate.
Project Eleven, a crypto security organization, reacted publicly on X.
Google has sounded the quantum alarm
Today, they released groundbreaking progress towards breaking crypto using a quantum computer.
Current encryption methods are no longer secure. Attacks exploiting the mempool are happening, and we need to switch to post-quantum cryptography immediately.
Thread
— Project Eleven (@projecteleven)
The team called this advancement “the quantum alarm” and cautioned that attacks targeting the mempool are now a genuine concern.
Bitcoin transactions that haven’t been confirmed yet are vulnerable while they’re waiting to be processed. Additionally, a recent analysis suggests the top 1,000 Ethereum wallets could be at risk of exposure in about nine days.
Google decided not to share the specific quantum circuits they used in their latest study. This is the first time a research paper on estimating quantum resources has kept those details private, citing security concerns.
Rather than sharing the details of their work, the team released a zero-knowledge proof. This lets others confirm their findings without revealing how it was done, preventing malicious use of the information.
Mempool Attacks and Vulnerable Bitcoin Wallets Explained
The study found two main types of risk. The first involves wallets that always show their public keys, making them vulnerable to what researchers term ‘at-rest attacks’.
Project Eleven estimates approximately 6.7 million Bitcoin are currently unspendable. About 1.7 million of this Bitcoin is locked in older, ‘pay-to-public-key’ scripts, originally distributed as mining rewards. These public keys are publicly visible on the Bitcoin blockchain and can’t be concealed.
Also, the recently reduced nine-minute timeframe for attacks now makes “mempool attacks” possible. When someone sends a transaction, their public key is revealed to the network before the transaction is officially confirmed in a block.
With a powerful enough quantum computer, it would be possible to figure out the private key during that short time frame. This would allow someone to intercept and change the transaction. Before this research, this scenario didn’t seem likely.
Google engaged with the U.S. government ahead of publication.
The team worked with Coinbase, the Stanford Institute for Blockchain Research, and the Ethereum Foundation to agree on a plan for responsibly sharing information with the public.
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Industry Must Migrate to Post-Quantum Cryptography by 2029
Google’s paper is direct in its recommendation.
The technology industry must adopt new, quantum-resistant encryption methods, known as post-quantum cryptography, before powerful quantum computers become a real threat.
As a researcher in this field, I’ve been tracking Google’s progress closely. They’ve committed to transitioning to post-quantum cryptography by 2029 and have actually been championing it since 2016. What we’re finding is that we *have* workable PQC solutions now – the biggest hurdle isn’t developing them, but actually getting them implemented quickly and effectively.
This report advises Bitcoin and blockchain developers to stop using the same wallet addresses repeatedly, as this can create security risks. It also suggests keeping public keys hidden whenever possible. These are quick fixes to improve security while more substantial, long-term solutions are being developed.
Google has observed that some blockchains, despite being generally vulnerable, are already testing out new, experimental post-quantum cryptography (PQC) systems.
As a researcher in this field, I’m increasingly concerned about the speed of quantum computing development. My work suggests we shouldn’t assume we’ll have plenty of notice before a quantum computer powerful enough to break current encryption methods is built. In fact, there might be no clear signals before it arrives, which is a significant risk we need to address.
As a crypto investor, I found Google’s recent research really concerning. They’re not talking about some far-off future problem – they’re saying there’s a real security risk *right now* that needs to be fixed immediately. It’s not just theoretical; it’s a current vulnerability.
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2026-03-31 13:00