#Blockchain No, IBM’s Quantum Computer Won’t Break Bitcoin

IBM recently unveiled its Q System One at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019, with the company describing the quantum computer as being developed for “commercial use.” Despite numerous media outlets again decrying the imminent death of Bitcoin, IBM’s quantum system is not the game-changer that many are heralding it to be.

Also Read: Japanese Regulator Clarifies Stance on Bitcoin ETFs and Derivatives

IBM Unveils Quantum Computing System

No, IBM’s Quantum Computer Won’t Break BitcoinIBM’s commercial launch of its new quantum computing system has fueled reports claiming that the technology may spell doom for bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

The reports are based on a long-standing fear that the advent of quantum computing could break contemporary encryption practices, undermining the security of distributed ledger technologies.

The Q System One uses IBM’s 20-qubit chip, with the company claiming that the unit is “designed for commercial use.” At launch, Arvind Krishna, director of IBM Research, described the system as “critical in expanding quantum computing beyond the walls of the research lab as we work to develop practical quantum applications for business and science.”

Despite IMB implying that the computer can be physically purchased, the device is only accessible via the cloud due to the extreme delicacy and climate required to operate quantum chips. According to Gizmodo, IBM also “already offers cloud-based access to its [quantum] experience, which includes the 20-qubit chip.”

Experts Doubt Practical Uses for IBM’s 20-Qubit System

No, IBM’s Quantum Computer Won’t Break BitcoinWhile a number of analysts have noted the commercial significance of IBM’s Q System One, many onlookers are skeptical of the capabilities of the system, instead suggesting that 50-qubit chips are likely to have a greater array of practical applications.

Helmut Katzgraber, principal researcher at Microsoft Quantum, similarly described IBM’s announcement as a “historical milestone to be able to commercially acquire a digital device, even though the technology,” but anticipates that the system will be of little use beyond research and PR.

IBM Q System One Comprises Commercial Rather Than Computational Milestone

No, IBM’s Quantum Computer Won’t Break BitcoinDespite describing the increasing accessibility of quantum computing as “significant,” Andrew Childs, the co-director of the Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science at the University of Maryland, expressed skepticism regarding IBM’s device, stating: “Ultimately though, I think figuring out how to make a lot of low-noise qubits is a lot more important than figuring out how to put them in a beautiful package.”

“It’s more like a stepping stone than a practical quantum computer,” stated Winfried Hensinger, professor of quantum technologies at the University of Sussex. “Don’t think of this as a quantum computer that can solve all of the problems quantum computing is known for. Think of it as a prototype machine that allows you to test and further develop some of the programming that might be useful in the future,” he added.

What do you think of IBM’s Q System One and the purported threat quantum computing poses to cryptcurrency? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!


Images courtesy of Shutterstock, IBM Research


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#Blockchain No, Visa Doesn’t Handle 24,000 TPS and Neither Does Your Pet Blockchain

No, Visa Doesn’t Handle 24,000 TPS and Neither Does Your Pet Blockchain

When it comes to measuring the speed of new blockchains, the comparison is always with Visa. Despite not being a blockchain, the 24,000 transactions per second Visa reportedly handles have attained mythical status. That figure is unquestioningly trotted out whenever scaling is discussed. In reality, claims of Visa’s throughput, as well as those of emerging blockchains, have been greatly exaggerated.

Also read: The Bitcoin BCH Block Explorer Explodes With Blockchain Data

Visa, Scaling, and the 24k Hoax

Visa CEO: Bitcoin is Not a Payment SystemBitcoin was envisaged as a payments system and so it was natural, long before the store of value notion emerged, that comparisons would be made with existing global payment systems. Bitcoin’s early adopters knew that if the technology took off, some time in the future it would need to handle magnitudes more transactions per second than the 7 it could muster. Someone mentioned Visa with their magical 24k per second, and it’s stuck ever since.

Only that figure isn’t entirely accurate. In fact it’s not even remotely accurate. In reality, Visa processes around 1,700 transactions per second, a figure it rarely exceeds. The larger number is the one that Visa claims, and it’s the one that’s usually referenced in comparison to bitcoin and every other blockchain. In theory Visa should be able to handle that volume – in fact it’s been reported that its servers can handle as much as 56k tps – but that’s all theoretical, much like the claimed throughput of new blockchains that can operate at the speed of light in the lab, but significantly worse in the wild. There’s a big difference between operating a testnet on a bunch of Amazon servers and a mainnet distributed around the globe.

You Can’t Have Your Cake and Eat It

Speed and throughput come at the expense of decentralization, and the more you increase the former, the more of the latter you lose. Blockchains such as EOS and NEO are certainly faster than bitcoin, but they’re also highly centralized because they rely on a much lower number of validator nodes, among other things. There is nothing inherently wrong with having a fast but semi-centralized blockchain, but it is never going to become a global payment system with censorship-resistant properties that can rival bitcoin.

No, Visa Doesn’t Handle 24,000 TPS and Neither Does Your Pet Blockchain

Even at 1,700 transactions per second, Visa is still significantly faster than bitcoin and most other blockchains, but this figure is at least a far more realistic one to reference and a more achievable one to aim for. Blockchain scaling can be implemented in a range of ways, from increasing the block size to layer two solutions (Lightning Network) to using techniques such as sharding, all of which carry various trade-offs. There is no reason why Bitcoin Core, Bitcoin Cash, and other blockchains cannot reach much higher speeds and levels of throughput without compromising on their decentralization, but this will take time and tech.

No, Visa Doesn’t Handle 24,000 TPS and Neither Does Your Pet BlockchainFor now, any time a new blockchain starts making promises about “beating Visa’s 24,000 tps”, be sceptical and examine the fineprint. IOTA’s meant to be fast and scalable, but like a kid who’s terrified of removing the stabilizers from their bike, it still doesn’t function without its coordinator. Hashgraph is also meant to be fast, but it comes with threats to sue anyone who tries to fork it and any blockchain that can be sued isn’t a decentralized network. Come to think of it, it’s more like Visa.

Do you think the performance of new blockchains is typically overstated? Let us know in the comments section below.


Images courtesy of Shutterstock, and Twitter.


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#Blockchain No, ”Elon Musk” on Twitter Is Not Giving Away Any Cryptocurrency

Elon Musk on Twitter is Not Giving Away Cryptocurrency

A British news agency teamed with Chainalysis to uncover just how rampant cryptocurrency Twitter scams are and the methods employed. Using well-regarded tech personalities such as Elon Musk, tens of thousands dollars have been swiped from unsuspecting admirers.  

Also read: Bitcoiners Demand More Crypto CFDs and Spread-Betting in the UK

No, Elon Musk Is Not Giving Away Crypto

Senior developer at Chainalysis, Alvaro Sevilla, explained: “The differences in the way these funds are being handled, such as different withdrawal patterns and the use of different exchanges, is indicative of different copycats attempting to do the same scam. The simplicity of the attack, which requires little technical knowledge and preparation, also leads us to believe it’s a trend more than an organised attack,” he told Sky News.

The two outfits teamed up to uncover how rampant crypto Twitter scams are, using popular profiles such as Elon Musk, a well regarded tech savant and founder of companies such as Tesla and Space X, and Vitalik Buterin of Ethereum, who is generally respected in the crypto world proper. After having shared their report findings with Twitter, the team received this response from the social media platform: “We are aware of coordinated spam activity around cryptocurrencies and related software products. The malicious use of automation, impersonation, and other deliberate attempts to deceive are prohibited under the Twitter Rules.”

Elon Musk on Twitter is Not Giving Away Cryptocurrency

And yet many offending profiles remain, proving it a difficult task to police the problem from on-high. It’s probably more worthwhile to remind average and newer enthusiasts there is no such thing as a free lunch. If it appears to be too good to be true, it probably is. Though these well worn cliches seem downright obvious, it does appear some of the scammers attempted to feign legitimacy. 

A higher-profile account establishes a pattern of syntax and image, and then an offending account merely copies its attributes down to the finest detail. A quick read inside a thread is usually the easiest way to catch unsuspecting eyeballs. The fraud profile at some point within the discussion offers to give free cryptocurrency.

Maniacally Simplistic

Words like “community” are tossed around, and the posing profile urges readers to zap a few small fractions to a wallet address with the promise of larger returns later. It has evidently worked so well, legitimate personalities have retaken to Twitter in order to warn followers. In the case of Mr. Buterin, he’s even changed his official Twitter name for emphasis.

“Our teams are overseeing a technological process of batch suspending these networks of offending accounts at scale and at speed,” Twitter explained. “If anyone sees suspicious account behaviour relating to these issues, they should block the user immediately and report them directly to our dedicated support teams.”

Elon Musk on Twitter is Not Giving Away Cryptocurrency
A graph by Chainalysis shows “funds belonging to victims’ accounts were independently sourced, displaying separate clusters of transactions rather than anything which the scammer had seeded.”

Alexander J Martin of Sky News noted, “The fake accounts have struck hundreds of times over the last two months, with the most successful taking away as much as £50,000 a day before using a range of exchanges to convert the proceeds into cash. In the largest scams, Sky News has observed hundreds of fake and automated accounts retweeting and liking the scam post, some responding with claims that they received money back; all providing the scammer with legitimacy and encouraging other users to take part.”

Within the Twitter thread, automated responses to the request by the scam profile issue encouraging testimonials. And if an initial skeptic were slick enough, the ethereum blockchain confirmed token amounts were indeed sent, perhaps lending an air, at first glance, of legitimacy. The team was unable to determine how much of the amounts were sent credulously by victims, versus what’sknown as “seed” amounts used to trick future victims sent by the fake profile itself to create a fear of missing out.

Stay Skeptical

“Our investigation found that some of these scams did indeed feature seed transfers,” Mr. Martin observed, “but these curiously were only utilised by the least successful of the scams. For the most successful – which received thousands of pounds from their victims – not a single transaction could be confidently flagged as a seed transfer.”

Elon Musk on Twitter is Not Giving Away Cryptocurrency

It wasn’t really any more than that. Create a fake profile and wallet. Invade a thread with carefully worded urgency. The user sees the amount as a pittance and sends it along for the gamble, and probably won’t even report having been duped. And, look, everyone else seems to be doing it and it worked for them!

For its part, Chainalysis “detected significantly different methodologies in terms of how the scammers attempted to launder their cryptocurrency, and to which exchanges their funds were sent in exchange for cash – suggesting that the campaigns were being run by copycats rather than a single conspiracy with an established method of operating.”

What do you think about such scams? Should Twitter become more restrictive or should users take greater care? Let us know in the comments!


Images via Pixabay, Chainalysis, Twitter. 


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