Google claims its Willow chip achieved verifiable quantum advantage, sparking discussion on potential long-term implications for Bitcoin’s cryptographic security.
Google reported that its Willow chip achieved a verifiable quantum advantage by completing a calculation thousands of times faster than classical supercomputers. The chip simulated quantum chaos in two hours using Out-of-Time-Order Correlators, a benchmark for particle behavior tracking. Researchers suggest this moves quantum computing toward practical uses like Hamiltonian learning. The breakthrough renewed debate in the cryptocurrency space about future risks to Bitcoin’s cryptographic foundations, though experts, including Kostas Kryptos Chalkias of Mysten Labs, estimate such threats are at least a decade away. Following the news, Alphabet’s stock rose 1.5% before settling at $253, up 0.7%, while Bitcoin briefly gained before declining to $108,150, 4% lower on the day.