This new type of supercomputer will eventually break Bitcoin... and all kinds of other technology - Episode 341 - by cryptohunt.it

This new type of supercomputer will eventually break Bitcoin... and all kinds of other technology

Welcome to the Cryptohunt Jam, where we spend a minute a day explaining what is happening in crypto and other game-changing ideas. As always: In plain English.

If you are a big fan of Bitcoin, don't get mad at us – but we are here to tell you that supercomputers will eventually break it.

But how is this possible, when nobody has broken Bitcoin so far?

Well, it all comes down to an emerging type of supercomputer called the quantum computer. In theory, this computer can solve certain tasks several billion times faster than even the most expensive computer we have today.

Bitcoin, and this is the problem, relies on cryptography to work. Say your name is Samantha, but you introduce yourself to others by randomly scrambling the letters, for example to Mansatah or Natahasm. Without telling people the exact order of the letters, it'll take them a while to figure it out, and they have to rearrange letters many times over until it clicks.

That is, in an simplified way, how most cryptography works. That order of letters you kept a secret is also called the key. With that key, it's easy to decrypt something. Without that key, you can still figure it out by trying all possible combinations, but in practice this guessing-game takes way too long to make sense. And for Bitcoin, that cryptography is so strong that even all the computers in the world together would have to guess for a far longer time than our entire universe has existed.

Which is - you know - just a little bit too long for our taste.

But as crazy as that sounds, you've probably guessed it: A breakthrough in computing power would get us much closer to trying all the possible combinations in the Bitcoin cryptography in reasonable time. Even if it takes an entire year, it’s worth waiting for. And that's exactly what quantum computers could eventually do.

They are still experimental, not nearly powerful enough, and only work in a handful of expensive, secret labs, but the idea works in theory. A few more years, and things may look very different.

And that's why people are both worried and excited - far beyond just Bitcoin and cryptography.

If you want to learn more about this game-changing tech, sign up at cryptohunt.it and keep an eye on your email - because we are going to drop an entire course on the subject later this week – as always: easy to understand, just like this podcast - which is also produced by Cryptohunt.it. My name is Christian Byza, and I am the host of this daily show - see you tomorrow.