Today I saw a video of CZ pitching this idea that we (Bitcoin) need to freeze the Satoshi premine because those coins will never be quantum-secure. This is not a new idea and has been pitched many times before, but to see such a prominent figure in crypto pitch it is triggering to say the least, for a couple of different reasons.
Interesting enough it's flawed for some of the exact same reasons I've explained why it is practically impossible to 51% attack Bitcoin. And when I say "practically impossible" I don't mean there's a slight chance of it happening; I mean that it is actually impossible to accomplish in the real world, on a practical level, outside of our theory-crafting headspace.
The concept that a malevolent entity could leverage a quantum hack to steal 1M Bitcoin that everyone is watching and then somehow spend that Bitcoin without getting caught is ridiculous. No one is ever going to come up with a rational step-by-step scenario of how that actually happens, and nobody with these theories has ever tried, because if they did they'd immediately realize it doesn't work and scrap the theory posthaste.
Of course I'm certainly open to the idea that freezing the coins could ultimately be the best move for other more-valid reasons. If any of those coins move anywhere for any reason there will almost certainly be a massive crash in the market. Surely we'd like to avoid that (unless you're a buyer of last resort of course). On a basic level it does make sense that if the network needs a security update and that upgrade can't be retroactively applied to dead wallets we might want to freeze those wallets entirely. On the flipside does this open a Pandora's box to freeze other UTXOs for other reasons? That could potentially ruin the entire reason Bitcoin was created in the first place.
Governments around the world charge their citizens 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, and even 60% of their gross income as a tax EVERY YEAR. I'm told it's called "gross" because of how much you'd have leftover if you didn't have to pay taxes. Is it really such a crazy idea for the Bitcoin network to say, "Yeah it's fine if a bad actor steals 5% of the supply of these unsecured tokens. Better that than changing the protocol and opening up new attack vectors." It's an argument that doesn't get made very often (most famously with Ethereum Classic) but it does have merit on a certain level.
In my mind quantum computing is purely a military technology that exists solely to crack the encryption algorithms of modern cryptography. We're told we're still years away from this threat being an actual danger, but then again the updates don't come from the military at all, but rather research facilities and corporations. It's a very small leap to assume that intelligence agencies actually have access to more powerful hardware than is currently known to exist. Often the rule of thumb is to assume the military has access to these types of things ten years in advance of civilians, which is more than enough buffer to crack encryption right now today. Could this be the reason why crypto has struggled so hard during this last cycle?
Even if governments do not have the power to crack crypto wallets today using quantum the threat is still a huge deterrent to potential investors and other massive pools of liquidity. Why risk your money on an asset that 100% relies on its security when that security could already be compromised? Especially true this day in age when AI has gotten so out of control and there are plenty of other high risk/reward assets out there to capitalize on.
If you ask Google what quantum can do you get quite a few more answers than just "ruining the current cybersecurity model".
Medicine and Pharmaceuticals
Traditional computers struggle to simulate complex molecular interactions, forcing the pharmaceutical industry to rely on slow, trial-and-error laboratory research. Quantum computers can natively model how potential drug compounds behave at a molecular level...
Financial Modeling and Risk Analysis
Financial markets involve highly interconnected variables that overwhelm classical computers...
Logistics and Supply Chain Optimization
The logistics industry constantly faces heavy variables, such as varying delivery routes, time limits, and personnel schedules...
Energy and Climate
Quantum simulation allows for the design of new, highly efficient materials for clean energy technologies...
Cybersecurity
Quantum technology possesses the potential to break traditional encryption methods, it also paves the way for advanced, unbreakable security...
Interestingly enough I've already posted about these issues at length quite generically. It would seem that quantum solves the Traveling Salesman Problem to a certain extent. The lack of a solution before was the foundation of modern cryptography, but now we need a new solution. Being able to solve Non-Polynomial (NP) problems seems trivial at first glance but could yet have far reaching effects we haven't even considered.
I've often discussed this idea of converging technologies. Crazy stuff is going to happen when crypto is interlaced with AI and 3D printing/manufacturing. Circling back to this idea, perhaps Quantum technology could be added to this list as well. As it stands now quantum is nothing but a threat to crypto, but once we get over that hurdle it could become an unlikely ally. It can only become a benefit once that threat is removed.
Perhaps the biggest threat that quantum computing poses is the fact that it's viewed as a threat in and of itself. Much like the Y2K scare at the turn of the century, this all very well may work out to be a huge nothing-burger with no sauce. That being said, perception is reality. Even if a thing isn't real, how we react to it most certainly is.
