Google Quantum Breakthrough: Why Old Bitcoin Wallets Face More Risk

TLDR Google says its Willow quantum chip cut errors about 40-fold when preparing “magic states,” a resource quantum computers need for advanced calculations. The method, called cultivation, reached about 99.99% fidelity, but Willow kept only about 8% of its attempts after error checks. A large enough quantum computer could, in theory, work out bitcoin secret keys, and some of the oldest coins have exposed public keys. Nic Carter says no threat is imminent, while Project Eleven’s Alex Pruden says the result makes current Q-day estimates more credible. Coinbase published technical priorities for Bitcoin’s post-quantum transition this week. Google says its Willow quantum chip cut errors about 40-fold when preparing special quantum states. The result was published in Science this week.

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