Most of the crypto industry has spent this week digesting Google’s article on how quantum computers can break blockchain encryption. One startup is asking a different question: whether quantum hardware can make blockchains better.
Postquant Labs, which is building the world’s shared quantum computer, announced Wednesday the launch of what it calls the first publicly available quantum classical blockchain testnet, where quantum computers and legacy technology work side by side to solve problems.
Quantum computers use the physics of subatomic particles to test many possible solutions simultaneously rather than checking them one by one, making them fundamentally different from even the fastest conventional supercomputers, which are just very fast versions of the same step-by-step approach.
The testnet has already attracted 13,000 registrations from researchers at MIT, Stanford and universities around the world, according to the press release shared with CoinDesk. Of these, six teams have submitted serious calculations so far.
Postquant Labs’ attempt to explore how quantum processors can improve blockchain performance stands in contrast to most blockchain developers who see quantum as a threat.
The threat perception has multiplied after Google published a paper on Monday finding that breaching Bitcoin’s cryptographic defenses would require fewer than 500,000 physical qubits, about a 20-fold reduction from previous estimates.
However, please note that the Postquant Labs testnet is a test environment and not a live end product. It is the place where researchers experiment before something goes into production.
The testnet was built in consultation with D-Wave Quantum Inc, a leader in quantum computing systems, software and services.
“From a technical perspective, the hybrid design of the testnet is particularly interesting. Participants can contribute using QPUs, CPUs and GPUs, creating a shared environment to evaluate how different computational models perform side by side,” said Dr. Trevor Lanting, Chief Development Officer of D-Wave, told CoinDesk.
“This creates an environment where we can better understand how quantum approaches compare to classical methods in a blockchain setting, and where they can provide meaningful benefits such as improved energy efficiency or security,” he added.
Developers and researchers can earn QUIP tokens by solving complex mathematical problems using quantum machines, GPUs or regular CPUs. QUIP is intended to be a utility token that can be exchanged for computing resources provided by quantum and classical miners on the network.
If quantum computers can actually outperform regular computers at blockchain tasks – solving problems faster, using less energy, and producing better results – then distributed ledgers could become much more useful for real business applications, and not just crypto trading.
“Today, annealing quantum computers are beginning to show performance benefits in useful optimization applications in logistics, manufacturing and beyond, often delivering better results, faster and at lower energy costs than classical solutions alone,” said Colton Dillion, CEO and co-founder of Postquant Labs.
“Our goal is to make this quantum advantage accessible through a blockchain network,” Dillion added.
From now on, that’s a big ‘if’. This testnet must prove whether the quantum advantage is real or just marketing.
“The launch of the Mainnet will depend entirely on the performance of the testnet, but we are eager to launch once we have proven the network’s capabilities to solve real-world problems, and demonstrated that quantum supply and demand exists on both sides of the market,” Postquant Labs told CoinDesk.
Do quantum computers exist?
Yes, they do, but not the sci-fi version that breaks Bitcoin and other blockchains or hacks banks and major financial institutions.
D-Wave’s machines are not the quantum computers in Google’s article. They are glowing systems, specialized hardware for optimization problems such as route planning and resource allocation.
They can’t run Shor’s algorithm, can’t break encryption, and can’t do anything described in Google’s article. They are good at one specific class of problems, and that is the class that Quip.Network tests.
Postquant uses D-Wave’s Advantage2 glowing quantum computer through the company’s Leap cloud service.
In early internal testing, Postquant says D-Wave’s Advantage2 system defeated 80 H100 GPUs and 480 CPU cores in solution quality, time to solution, and energy efficiency for these specific optimization problems.
These results have not been independently verified or published. Until that is the case, the claim belongs solely to the company.
What role does D-Wave play?
D-Wave is not a full partner or investor. and only advised Quip Network on the development of the testnet” and “provided access to the Advantage2 system and consultation on the development of the testnet.”
Importantly, D-Wave has not independently endorsed the overall technical architecture; their involvement is limited to providing hardware access and advice.