The cryptocurrency industry is starting to prepare for the threat of quantum computing as recent advances fuel concerns that the technology could soon be able to crack the cryptography that protects transactions and digital wallets. Quantum computers can solve complex mathematical problems much faster than today's sophisticated computers, and could be used to unscramble conventional methods for encrypting digital information. That spells trouble for the $2 trillion global cryptocurrency market, which is based on blockchains secured by old-school cryptography and already has a history of major hacks, Reuters reported.
While the technology remains largely experimental, crypto industry concerns have grown since March research from Alphabet's Google, one of several tech giants pioneering the technology, suggested quantum computers may be able to break that cryptography sooner than previously expected, according to executives and analysts. Google has said that quantum computers capable of breaking encryption could arrive by 2029, whereas previously they were seen as at least a decade out.
