Google's Quantum AI team published a whitepaper claiming that cracking Bitcoin's blockchain could be significantly easier than once thought. Researchers found that breaking the cryptography used by Bitcoin and Ethereum might require fewer than 500,000 physical qubits, well below the 'millions' figure often cited. This shrinks the perceived gap between current quantum computing capabilities and a viable attack.
Two Attack Methods Need Only 1,200–1,450 High-Quality Qubits
Google designed two potential attack paths, each requiring roughly 1,200 to 1,450 high-quality qubits — a fraction of earlier estimates. The attack could target transactions in real time: when a Bitcoin user broadcasts a payment, the public key is briefly visible. A fast quantum computer could derive the private key and redirect the funds. The paper also notes that Bitcoin's Taproot upgrade, while improving privacy and efficiency, may inadvertently lower the barrier for such attacks. Google has previously set 2029 as a milestone for practical quantum systems, urging migration before that date.
OpenAI Closes Record $122 Billion Funding Round
AI giant OpenAI raised $122 billion in committed capital at an $852 billion post-money valuation, dwarfing all previous private-market deals and making it the most valuable startup in history. The round was anchored by Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank, with Microsoft also participating. SoftBank co-led alongside a16z, D.E. Shaw Ventures, MGX, TPG, and T. Rowe Price. Investors range from BlackRock and Blackstone to Fidelity, Sequoia, Temasek, Coatue, and ARK Invest. OpenAI opened a tranche to individual investors via bank channels, raising over $3 billion from that alone. The company now generates $2 billion in monthly revenue (up from $1 billion per quarter at end-2024), ChatGPT has over 900 million weekly active users, and its web and mobile traffic is 6 times that of the next largest AI app.
Base Unveils 2026 Roadmap: Onchain Markets, Stablecoin Payments, Developers
Base, Coinbase's layer-2 network, released its 2026 strategy centered on three pillars: expanding onchain markets, scaling stablecoin payments, and growing the developer ecosystem. Since launching in August 2023, Base has become one of the most active L2s on Ethereum. It was built on Optimism's OP Stack but signaled in February it would move to in-house code. Meanwhile, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and others have recently emphasized scaling the base layer, raising questions about L2's long-term role. Base is doubling down on its vision of a 'global onchain economy' as institutional adoption of onchain trading and stablecoins accelerates.