Google White Paper Moves Up Quantum Threat: Can Bitcoin and Ethereum Encryption Be Broken with 'Under 500,000 Qubits'?

On March 31, 2026, Google Quantum AI's research division (led by Ryan Babbush, Hartmut Neven, and others) published a groundbreaking 57-page white paper titled "Securing Elliptic Curve Cryptocurrencies against Quantum Vulnerabilities: Resource Estimates and Mitigations," based on joint research with Justin Drake of the Ethereum Foundation, cryptographer Dan Boneh of Stanford University, and others.