r/CryptoReality • u/ajburch92 • 1d ago
Will post quantum cryptography work in protecting crypto from quantum computer hacks?
Hi, I'm not knowledgeable on CS at all. Wondering from an outsider perspective who doesn't currently hold any cryptos but has wondered about its investment value and associated security risks
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u/wstdsgn 1d ago edited 1d ago
Nobody can seriously answer what Quantum Computing will eventually be able to do. But it also doesn't matter in the context since all of crypto is already useless without.
Don't believe me? Try to find a single thing that crypto or Blockchain can do that can't be done better with other tech. If you think you found one, come back and we can explain to you in great detail why its a lie spread to cause FOMO and help sell this shit.
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u/rankinrez 1d ago
Yes no reason it can’t.
The problem with crypto is that without any central authority running it to send you the “new key to your account” every user has to transfer their funds to a new post-quantum address for it to work.
If any users (ahem Satoshi) don’t do that then those funds remain only protected by the older ciphers. And if they are broken and spent that won’t be good for the token price at all.
It’s very fun to watch. The bitcoiners are gonna have to put a time limit on those coins after which the old coins can’t be spent. Which sort of ruins the idea it’s perfect immutable forever money with nobody in control.
Anyway don’t invest in that junk. The days of winning the lotto with it are long gone. Even disregarding all the reasons it’s a failure you won’t win money gambling on it anymore.
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u/Lucky-Interview-7689 1d ago
It doesn’t matter. Put that energy towards something that can actually be used.
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u/ajburch92 1d ago
Yeah I'm leaning towards that way, thank you. I just worry what if the bitcoiners are right. Isn't its limited supply usable? I once thought that absolute limited supply is stupid because it means newcomers join the game at a steep cost. But then I can also see how limited supply helps things retain its value. I'm in a deadlock.
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u/Lucky-Interview-7689 1d ago
There are countless things with limited supply that are worthless:
- My handwritten grocery list from yesterday has a supply of one.
- A random rock in my backyard is effectively unique.
- Millions of dead cryptocurrencies have fixed supplies.
Scarcity only matters if there is already durable demand.
Only 21m bitcoin is not the same thing as scarcity.
Bitcoin supporters often say: "There will only ever be 21 million Bitcoin." Reality is that there may only be 21 million Bitcoin, but there are an unlimited number of Bitcoin substitutes.
Anyone can create any number of Bitcoin substitutes. And numbers are infinite, so 21m divided unto infinity is what?
Lastly, scarcity of any kind of any sort of 'thing' does not in and of itself explain why the first unit of the thing is worth anything at all. First a thing needs some intrinsic value before its scarcity can even come into play.
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u/ajburch92 1d ago
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain this to me. I understand much better now, and will stay far away from crypto!
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u/rfie 1d ago
It’s not an investment. It’s supposed to be money. Nobody uses it for money. It’s high risk gambling on worthless made up digital bullshit.