Quantum computer quickly mines cryptocurrency while using less energy
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- Colton Dillion at Postquant Labs has run an experimental blockchain called Quip since April, pairing conventional machines with a D-Wave Advantage2 quantum computer on an optimization-based proof-of-work problem.
- D-Wave's Advantage2 wins about 92% of the roughly one-third of blocks it's available to compete for, even though the machine is only on the Quip network for about 5 minutes per day, D-Wave CEO Alan Baratz said at a 1 June investor presentation.
- Preliminary results show the Advantage2 uses roughly 100 times less electrical power per block win — about 12.5 watts versus 1,334 watts for conventional machines, with Dillion estimating a classical rival capable of winning more often would need 300 times Advantage2's power.
- Quip was built to be resistant to attacks from adversarial quantum computers, a safeguard many existing blockchains still lack, according to Dillion.
- Olivier Ezratty at the Quantum Energy Initiative pushed back, arguing that capital expenditure and the energy cost of manufacturing D-Wave hardware could offset the per-computation energy savings at scale.
- Carlos Perez-Delgado at the University of Kent, while not involved with Quip, called the problem formulation well-suited to quantum advantage, and BTQ Technologies and Quandela (which builds light-based quantum computers) are pursuing similar quantum proof-of-work efforts.
- Dillion's team plans to add a second proof-of-work problem and integrate quantum hardware from other manufacturers, with a stated long-term goal of a globally distributed quantum computing network open to outside users.
Why it matters: D-Wave and Postquant Labs haven't published detailed benchmarks for the 100x energy claim, and Ezratty's capital-cost objection means the economics of quantum mining at scale remain unproven — so the real test is whether Dillion's team can onboard competing quantum hardware to Quip and let outsiders verify the Advantage2's edge on their own machines.
