I for one am grateful for the work of those who seek ways to make Bitcoin quantum-secure.
I remember back in my freshman year of college, which would've been nearly twenty years ago now, hearing about quantum computers and thinking we might have them in a decade.
When I first bought bitcoin, it was with the notion in mind that maybe one day quantum computers at scale would exist, that one day the Bitcoin network might have to upgrade for it, as it has updated in the past for other things. Bitcoin is resilient against many risks, but I've generally thought that to be one worth watching.
I think some of the recent concerns about quantum are overdone. Bitcoin goes through seasons, and this is clearly quantum season. But it is true that some institutions and potential large buyers are worrying about bitcoin's quantum resistance, and thus its price can be impacted even if the software is not. This can pass, in time. And those who develop potential mitigation paths, that help figure out what the most efficient and resilient upgrades would be if they are needed, are doing good work on that front.
Much like how some people are understandably spooked by just the risk of quantum (i.e. even if you believe there's a ~5% chance of it happening in some investable time horizon, that factors into your expected value analysis), others are understandably relieved by knowing that people are working on it and that mitigation paths do exist. And I'm glad they're doing that.
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What a level headed take, people here will hate it 😅
I think that the amount of attention we give to a a change proposal to bitcoin should be based on computer science and rational threat assessment.
VCs and other vested interests' shouldn't be able to shape that conversation with bullshit chicken little narratives.
Great to hear Lyn talking about this topic.
Yes, there are many edge cases to explore and itf we can show that there are contingency plans in place, I think that will put many minds at ease
I'm more worried about nonverbal autistic children draining my cold storage by reading my mind, personally.
You all make me laugh. Quantum would have nothing to do with breaking hashes.