IBM claims progress toward quantum computers that could threaten Bitcoin's cryptography.
Macro & Markets ·
IBM announced it has achieved what it terms "trusted quantum advantage," using 70 logical qubits and a fresh error-correction approach to complete a computation that exceeds the capability of leading classical simulation methods, while simultaneously generating statistical confirmation of accuracy. Conducted alongside researchers from the University of Chicago, the work represents a step forward in IBM's push toward fault-tolerant quantum systems, though the company stressed the achievement does not materially shift Bitcoin's near-term security posture.
The experiment tackled a persistent challenge in quantum computing: reliably detecting and correcting errors as systems scale upward. IBM's team encoded the logical qubits, executed over 2,400 logical two-qubit operations and 468 logical T gates, and reduced logical error rates to approximately one-tenth the underlying physical error rate. A key distinction in this demonstration was its verification mechanism—researchers designed a structured method to identify errors during computation without compromising the mathematical difficulty of the problem itself.
The milestone aligns with IBM's Starling roadmap, unveiled in mid-2024, which targets delivery of a large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2029. That plan includes verified quantum advantage milestones followed by scaling to modular processors and ultimately a system handling roughly 200 logical qubits and 100 million quantum operations. Experts remain uncertain how soon such capabilities could pose practical risks to current cryptographic systems.