Photo: A quantum computer at France's C12 laboratory. Quantum computer experimental equipment operating in a cryogenic environment.

ALO Knowledge Power Plant - A Report on Understanding the Structure of Technology and Civilization

Imagine an announcement coming from a research institute one dawn.

“We have completed a large-scale quantum computer capable of calculating existing encryption in minutes.”

At that moment, the first question that would arise in global financial markets and the tech community would be:

“Isn’t Bitcoin finished?”

This question is not mere speculation. This is because the core of blockchain technology is 'cryptography'. Bitcoin and most blockchain systems operate based on public-key cryptography. The system is designed on the premise that while the relationship between a person's private key and their public key is mathematically linked, it is virtually impossible for current computers to calculate this relationship in reverse.

One of the core technologies for current internet security is the RSA public-key cryptosystem. This method is based on the mathematical property that factoring a large number into its prime factors is practically impossible. In simple terms, current internet security stands on the assumption that “it is virtually impossible to reverse-engineer an extremely large number.”

The problem is that quantum computing is a technology that can shake this very assumption.

Quantum computers can calculate multiple states simultaneously by utilizing quantum mechanical properties such as superposition and entanglement. In particular, for problems like factoring large numbers, they have the potential to perform much faster than classical computers. In theory, RSA and elliptic curve cryptography could be threatened.

Consequently, many people immediately envision a “collapse scenario.” However, if we examine the structure of technology a little more closely, the story is not that simple.

Firstly, quantum computers at the current level do not yet exist. Secondly, this is not just a problem for Bitcoin, but for the entire internet.

“It’s not a question of whether Bitcoin will collapse, but whether the cryptographic system of digital civilization will change.”

Blockchain is code. Code can be modified. Research into post-quantum cryptography is already underway. The real question is this:

“On what will trust be built?”

In preparation for the era of quantum computing, research into "post-quantum cryptography" to replace existing public-key cryptography is underway.