Today in crypto, Google has found that quantum computers might require far fewer resources than previously thought to break cryptography. Jack Dorsey’s Square is putting Bitcoin payments on its US POS terminals in a move aimed at making BTC “everyday money.” Digital asset investment products saw $414 million in outflows last week as inflation fears, US Fed rate hike expectations and Middle East tensions drove a shift toward risk-off sentiment.
Quantum computers need far less qubits to crack crypto than thought: Google
New research from Google shows that quantum computers could require far less resources than previously thought to break the cryptography that secures cryptocurrency blockchains.
Google’s new research, released on Monday, estimates a quantum computer could crack the cryptography protecting Bitcoin and Ethereum using fewer than 500,000 physical qubits, based on its current assumptions about hardware capabilities. A qubit is the basic unit of a quantum computer.
The researchers compiled two quantum circuits to test on a superconducting-qubit, cryptographically relevant quantum computer (CRQC), reporting that it was a “20-fold reduction” in the number of qubits required to break the 256-bit elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem (ECDLP-256) widely used in cryptocurrency blockchains.
The research suggests that in a theoretical scenario, a quantum computer could crack a Bitcoin private key in as little as nine minutes, giving it a small window to perform an “on-spend attack” given Bitcoin’s 10-minute block time.
Square rolls out Bitcoin payments at POS for eligible US merchants
Square, the payments platform of Block, has begun rolling out Bitcoin payments at its point-of-sale terminals for eligible US sellers, with the automatic feature going live today as part of a phased rollout over the coming month.
The announcement was shared Monday in a post on X by Miles Suter, Bitcoin product lead at Block, and reposted by CEO and longtime Bitcoiner Jack Dorsey.
The rollout, which could lower barriers to Bitcoin (BTC) payments by removing volatility and custody risk for millions of merchants, was first outlined by Block in May.
According to BitcoinTreasuries.net data, Block ranks as the 14th-largest publicly traded holder of Bitcoin, with 8,883 BTC on its balance sheet at an average cost of $32,939 per coin.
Crypto funds see first outflow in five weeks amid inflation, Iran fears
Crypto investment products saw their first weekly outflows in five weeks last week, with $414 million exiting the market as investors grew cautious over rising inflation risks and escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The pullback came as expectations for the June Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in the US shifted from potential rate cuts to rate hikes, signaling a tougher macro backdrop for risk assets, CoinShares reported Monday.
Total assets under management fell to $129 billion, returning to levels last seen in early February and “broadly comparable to April 2025, during the initial phase of Trump’s tariffs,” CoinShares head of research James Butterfill said.
The reversal in flows suggests a shift toward risk-off sentiment, with macro concerns driving investor behavior and weighing on demand for digital assets.
