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An overview of post-quantum threats to proof-of-work cryptocurrencies – Cointelegraph

Proof-of-work (PoW), or Nakamoto consensus, is a decentralized consensus mechanism that secures a blockchain by requiring nodes to expend energy and compete against each other to solve complex mathematical challenges to add blocks to the chain and receive rewards.

PoW also requires the network nodes to come to a consensus on whether network elements, such as account balances and the order of transactions, are correct. Bitcoin (BTC) is the largest PoW-powered blockchain by market cap in existence.

The mathematical problems Bitcoin network nodes solve require a significant number of computations, and miners often have to deploy application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) hardware to keep up with the other nodes in a PoW network. Even with ASICs, acquiring majority control of the network and executing a 51% attack to validate invalid transactions would require a substantial amount of computational power.

However, with the introduction of quantum computing technologies, there is a growing concern that the cryptographic underpinnings of blockchain technology, including Bitcoin, could be disrupted. Quantum computers may be able to attack conventional cryptographic methods, such as the ones employed in Bitcoins transaction validation procedure.

In particular, compared to classical computers, quantum computers can tackle complicated mathematical problems like discrete logarithms and integer factorization at an exponentially faster rate. The emergence of quantum computing poses a post-quantum threat to Bitcoins security.

Should a sufficiently potent quantum computer be developed, it might jeopardize the cryptographic integrity of the algorithms that underpin Bitcoin. This could allow malevolent actors to carry out attacks that were previously deemed impossible, such as the capacity to carry out a 51% attack with less computational work than is currently required.

Post-quantum computing refers to the era that would follow the development and deployment of quantum computers that have the potential to solve computational challenges that are presently thought to be beyond the capabilities of classical computers. This covers activities like simulating quantum systems, factoring big numbers and resolving specific optimization issues.

Quantum computing differs fundamentally from classical computing, which relies on bits that can represent either 0 or 1. Instead, quantum bits, or qubits, are used in quantum computing. Due to principles of superposition and entanglement, qubits can represent 0, 1, or both simultaneously.

The implications of quantum computing on PoW are considered one of the greatest incoming threats to the efficacy and effectiveness of blockchains and blockchain cryptography.

In the post-quantum computing era, quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms will be developed to withstand attacks from quantum computers and ensure the security of sensitive information in a post-quantum world.

Cryptography is a discipline within mathematics focusing on securing communication and data and is fundamental to PoW cryptocurrencies like BTC. The Bitcoin blockchain uses powerful cryptography to ensure its decentralized money transfer model remains trustless, private and secure during peer-to-peer transactions. However, quantum computers may attack it by deploying machines and algorithms powerful enough to break its cryptographic shields.

Bitcoin uses asymmetric encryption (also known as public-key cryptography), which employs two different keys: public and private. The public key is used to encrypt data or, in the case of Bitcoin, to generate a Bitcoin address where funds can be received. However, the private key is used for decryption or signing transactions. The private key proves ownership of the funds and authorizes transactions, allowing them to be securely added to the blockchain.

The most important ways Bitcoin uses cryptography are through digital signatures and hash functions. Both of these, however, are potentially crackable through quantum computing.

The Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) for digital signatures allows users to verify who owns a Bitcoin address and approve transactions. If quantum computers become powerful enough, they might be able to defeat ECDSA using techniques such as Shors algorithm, which might theoretically solve the discrete logarithm problem the foundation of ECDSA security in polynomial time.

The powerful superpositioned Schors algorithm could run on a quantum machine and, using a brute force method, determine the private key associated with a public key, hidden with the elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) scheme, invalidating the digital signature.

Cryptographic hash functions, namely SHA-256, are used by Bitcoin in several ways, including the mining process (PoW) and the creation of addresses using public keys. Hash functions are considered more immune to quantum attacks than the public-key cryptography systems today.

However, a sufficiently powerful quantum computer might still present a threat, albeit less immediately concerning than for digital signatures. For instance, Grovers algorithm may theoretically be able to accelerate the search for a pre-image of a hash function. But it only offers a quadratic speed, implying that the threat may be lessened if the hash length is doubled, for example, from 256 to 512 bits.

Securing PoW against quantum threats and developing post-quantum blockchain security have become essential. The blockchains quantum computing challenge is to develop solutions that can protect it from a quantum computer powerful enough to break all of its current cryptographic security measures.

Quantum-proof cryptocurrency and quantum resistance in blockchains may be possible with techniques like lattices, isogenies and codes.

A lattice-based cryptography is based on the mathematical concept of a lattice. A lattice is a grid of evenly spaced points that extend infinitely in every direction. This type of cryptography uses the complexity of lattices as the basis for encrypting or decrypting messages.

Lattice-based cryptography uses operations on lattice points to carry out encryption, decryption and other cryptographic functions. An attacker would find it challenging to decipher the original message or decryption key without knowing the precise structure of the lattice utilized in the encryption process due to the complexity and intractability of problems on lattices, which serve as the foundation for security.

Isogeny-based cryptography is an evolution of ECC and focuses on securely passing secret messages using the mathematical properties of elliptic curves. However, it introduces a new layer of complexity by using isogenies rather than the points on the curves directly, as in traditional ECC.

Isogeny-based cryptography is similar to two parties coming up with a secret handshake in public, with every move being observed, but no one can replicate it. Like lattice-based cryptography, its complexity offers possible defense against quantum computer attacks, making isogeny-based cryptography a viable option for post-quantum cryptography.

Code-based cryptography is based on challenging-to-decode general linear code. It is based on creating puzzles with error-correcting code, which is a set of mathematical tools used to detect and correct errors in data transmission. For example, if a message sent over the internet gets corrupted before it reaches its target, an error-correcting code would be used to recover it accurately.

In code-based cryptography, it should be straightforward for anyone with the right key to decode a message but challenging for anyone else. Code-based cryptography is considered to have quantum resistance potential because decoding random linear code the basis of code-based cryptography is not known to be efficiently solvable by quantum computers based on current algorithms, including Shors and Grovers.

In 2022, the United States Department of Commerces National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced it had chosen the first set of encryption tools designed to withstand attacks by quantum machines. The four selected algorithms will become a part of NISTs post-quantum cryptographic standard, which is set to be finalized in 2024. They are:

The future of PoW cryptocurrencies in the quantum era is a topic of significant interest and concern within the cryptographic and blockchain communities. Scientists from the University of Sussex estimate that a quantum system capable of utilizing 13 million qubits could break the cryptographic algorithms (that secure the Bitcoin blockchain) within 24 hours.

The mining component of PoW may be impacted by quantum computing. Although quantum techniques, like Grovers algorithm, can accelerate mining through a quadratic speedup in the search for a nonce that meets the PoW criterion, the potential disruption to cryptographic security outweighs this benefit. Nonetheless, the processing capacity required to significantly influence PoW mining is not yet available.

To protect PoW blockchains from future quantum attacks, the blockchain community is actively investigating and creating cryptographic algorithms resistant to quantum attacks. For instance, QuEra, a startup founded by former researchers from Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has released an incredibly ambitious roadmap for a Quantum machine set to be released soon.

The company plans on releasing a quantum computer with 100 logical qubits and 10,000 physical Qubits by 2026. It has been claimed that the machine will demonstrate a practical quantum advantage, meaning this computer will be able to perform tasks that todays bit-based computers cannot.

Quantum computers are still unable to crack cryptographic algorithms like those used in Bitcoin due to their small size or lack of fidelity. The field is progressing, though many technical obstacles, such as qubit coherence durations, error rates and others, have yet to be solved.

Written by Aditya Das

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Quantum computing startup Diraq raises $15M to build qubits using traditional silicon chips – SiliconANGLE News

Australian quantum computing startup Diraq Pty Ltd. said today it has closed on a $15 million capital raise that will be used to advance its research into a novel concept for building the physical qubits that power quantum computers.

The Series A-2 round was led by Quantonation, a specialist venture capital fund thats focused on quantum computing technologies, and saw participation from Higgins Family Investments and the University of New South Wales, Sydney. The round extends Diraqs original $20 million Series A raise, which closed in May 2022, according to PitchBook data. All told, Diraq has now raised more than $120 million, with the bulk of those funds coming from various Australian and U.S. government funding programs.

The Sydney-based startup is working on the development of quantum processors that rely on electron spins in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor quantum dots. In other words, it claims to be able to make quantum chips using existing chipmaking technologies. The main advantage of using silicon-based qubits the quantum version of the classic binary bit is that this technology could potentially leverage the semiconductor industrys existing infrastructure, meaning they can be manufactured without investing millions of dollars in new quantum chip fabs.

Diraqs silicon-based qubits are very different from the superconducting and ion-trapped counterparts being developed by companies such as IBM Corp. and IonQ Inc., although the research is perhaps not quite as advanced. Although those rivals have already made cloud-based systems available to customers, Diraq is not yet ready to do so. However, the startup insists that its technology remains the only viable way to scale quantum computers to support commercial-scale applications.

Most experts agree that quantum computers will need millions, if not billions of qubits to obtain an advantage over classical computers. But at present, most existing quantum machines can only support thousands of qubits.

Diraq says its approach will allow it to build a full-stack quantum computer that can move the nascent industry toward truly fault-tolerant computing. Already, it claims to have demonstrated superior qubit control with enough fidelity to allow for scalable error correction. This is necessary because in existing systems, the qubits are inherently unstable, introducing errors into quantum calculations that get worse as those systems scale.

The startup claims to have patents covering a detailed CMOS-based architecture for billions of qubits, capable of full error correction, together with advanced methods for qubit control, quantum memory, as well as innovative CMOS device designs.

Diraq co-founder and Chief Executive Andrew Dzurak (pictured, center) said that billions of qubits will be required to see useful quantum computing deployed cost-efficiently in a commercial timeframe. We are working closely with our foundry partners to drive qubit development based on tried and tested CMOS techniques coupled with our proprietary designs, he explained. We are focused on delivering energy-efficient processors with billions of qubits on one chip contained in one refrigerator, rather than thousands of chips and refrigerators requiring hundreds of square meters of space in a warehouse.

Analyst Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. said Diraqs confidence in its approach to quantum computing makes it a promising proposition. It would be a major breakthrough in quantum computing if Diraq is able to use existing CMOS infrastructure to build those incredibly unstable qubits, Mueller said. Its too early to tell if the approach will be successful, but the funding will certainly help, and those who have a stake in the quantum revolution would do well to keep an eye out for whatever Diraq comes up with next.

Quantonation partner Will Zeng said the startups main focus going forward will be to develop a working quantum device using a standard semiconductor foundry. This milestone will serve as a proof point, solidifying the viability of Diraqs technology and propelling the companys ambitious scale-up program aimed at constructing the most powerful quantum computers in the world, he added.

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The future of quantum computing | The TechTank Podcast | Brookings – Brookings Institution

Quantum computing promises to solve problems that are impossible for todays computers, including key problems in cryptography, drug discovery, finance, and data analysis. By leveraging the quantum properties of individual atoms and elementary particles, these computers can store and manipulate information in a fundamentally different way from classical computers, opening the door to new algorithms and new solutions.

Although modern quantum computers are still small and error-prone, they have come a long way in the past decade, and continued investment, both from governments and the private sector, promises further breakthroughs. In the past year, there have been important developments, including a thousand-fold increase in the length of time that information persists, large improvements in algorithmic performance and error correction, and the first quantum computer with more than 1000 quantum bits. Once only a theoretical possibility, this emerging form of computing continues to move closer to being a practical reality.

In this weeks episode of the TechTank Podcast, co-host Darrell West delves into the future and capabilities of powerful quantum computers. To aid in comprehending these revolutionary machines, Darrell West is joined by Joseph Keller, a visiting fellow in the Foreign Policy programs Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at Brookings.

You can listen to this episode and subscribe to the TechTank Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or Acast.

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Diraq Secures $15M in Series A-2 Funding to Advance Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing Development – HPCwire

SYDNEY, Feb. 12, 2024 Diraq, a global leader in quantum computing based on silicon quantum dots, today announced the successful completion of a Series A-2 capital raise of US$15 million. The raise will advance the companys cutting-edge research and development initiatives to realize the full economic and commercial potential of quantum computing.

The funding round was led by Paris-based specialist investor Quantonation, the worlds first venture capital fund dedicated to quantum technologies, with participation from John Higgins Family Investments and the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney. The round extends Diraqs Series A of USD $20 million led by technology investor Allectus Capital bringing the total funding of Diraqs technology to USD $120 million, with research funding from Australian and US government programs included.

This new Series A-2 funding will be used to expand our team in Australia and launch in the U.S. as well as capitalize on our existing international partnerships, said Andrew Dzurak, CEO and founder of Diraq. We are working closely with our foundry partners to drive qubit development based on tried and tested CMOS techniques coupled with our proprietary designs. We are focused on delivering energy-efficient processors with billions of qubits on one chip contained in one refrigerator, rather than thousands of chips and refrigerators requiring hundreds of square metres of space in a warehouse.

We are excited to lead Diraqs Series A-2 round as the company continues to evolve as a key player in the global silicon quantum ecosystem, said Will Zeng, a Quantonation partner who will join Diraqs board. The primary technical focus in the next 18 months will be on the development of a quantum chip through a standard semiconductor foundry. This milestone will serve as a proof point, solidifying the viability of Diraqs technology and propelling the companys scale-up program aimed at constructing the most powerful quantum computers in the world.

Diraqs U.S.-based chairman, the Hon. William Jeffrey, former Director of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) said, This funding round shows international recognition of our capabilities and potential impact. There is a key advantage to our technology which is based on modified transistors the same components that are integral to our daily lives. As one of the few global companies pursuing the goal of achieving millions of qubits on a single chip, we can leverage over 50 years and trillions of dollars of investment in the semiconductor industry.

Diraq is dedicated to building a full-stack quantum computer that bypasses the current era of large, error-ridden systems and moves the industry directly to fault-tolerant computing. The companys spin-based technology in silicon has demonstrated qubit control with sufficient accuracy to allow for scalable error correction, published in over 30 papers in the highly prestigious Nature group journals, including breakthroughs last year.

By taking on the complete process from quantum hardware through to the application layer, Diraq aims to bring the transformative power of quantum computing to a variety of industries with a powerful, cost-effective and compact quantum processor to help solve the worlds most challenging problems.

About Diraq

Diraq is a world leader in building quantum processors using silicon quantum dot technology. This leverages proprietary technology developed over 20 years of research by Diraq and its predecessor research program at UNSW, which have formed 11 Diraq patent families. The companys approach relies on the existing silicon manufacturing processes used by foundries to produce todays semiconductor components, known as CMOS, forging a faster and cheaper road to market. Diraqs goal is to revolutionise quantum computing by driving qubit numbers on a single chip to the many millions, and ultimately billions needed for useful commercial applications.

Source: Diraq

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Telcos jostle for position ahead of quantum leap – Light Reading

In a thought experiment that would be inadvisable to put into practice, Erwin Schrdinger argued that if a cat were placed in a sealed box with a mechanism that may or may not trigger the release of poison to kill the animal, it would be both dead and alive at the same time. Besides inadvertently raising the blood pressure of cat lovers a demographic thatshouldn't be messed with he was trying to demonstrate the idea of quantum superposition, the theory behind qubits and quantum computing.

Conventional computers as well as phones, tablets and everything else with a computing element rely on bits, the smallest possible units of information. Each of them can only hold a single value at a time traditionally represented as a one or zero. Anything stored or processed in a computer is, deep under the surface, converted by programming languages to ones and zeros the lowercase letter "a," for example goes by "1100001." A single GB of data, about the volume of streaming Netflix for an hour, represents over 8.5 billion bits, meaning ones or zeros. Printed out, that would be almost 3 million pages (don't try this at home.)

That slightly abstract piece of information gets much more complicated when it comes to quantum computing. Quantum bits, or qubits, can flicker between the two states a little like a tossed coin except with differing probabilities. Crucially, qubits can also be entangled to always land on the same result, which means a single string can store multiple pieces of information simultaneously.

Quantum in the cloud

As a result, quantum computers are said to have the potential to store and process more information than even the most advanced supercomputers relying on conventional bits. Scientists expect they will lend themselves particularly well to tasks that require the analysis of different combinations of factors, such as discovering new materials, battery chemistries orplanning traffic.

Still, these use cases are not here yet. The quantum computers available today cannot do anything conventional computers can't and there are some significant quirks that still need to be overcome. Crucially,the number of qubitsinside a quantum computer will need to increase, and the technology's susceptibility toerrors caused by environmental noisehas yet to be fully resolved.

None of this has prevented companies, including many telcos, from hopping aboard the bandwagon. For example, Deutsche Telekom's T-Systems, which providesdigital and IT solutions to businesses, already offers cloud access to quantum computers.

It has teamed up with several companies producing quantum computers, giving customers access to different types of the technology, with each company creating qubits in a different way. For now, the platform includes computers from market heavyweight IBM, alongside IQM and AQT.

T-Systems has also partnered with European platform PlanQK, which is developing a quantum computing ecosystem. As a result, customers have access to ready-made quantum algorithms andapplications. While these do not currently outperform conventional computers,PlanQKsays the idea behind the project is to allow developers to gain knowledge about specific hardware platforms and build the skills required.

In future, more telcos could venture in a similar direction. Andrew Lord, the senior manager of optical networks and quantum research atBT, told Light Reading during an interview that the company would consider selling access to cloud computers in future, perhaps as part of a broader computing platform.

The issue, Lord says, is that quantum computers alone will not be able to solve many of the problems put to them. The goal, then, is to provide a more generic service with quantum as one of the elements included.

"The challenge is, how can you orchestrate between that? So how do you take a problem from a customer and say, the best way of solving this problem is in this combination of compute, whether it's high performance computing, quantum computing, other types, and how do you orchestrate between all of that." The result would be a holistic computing and networking environment, where a customer only pays for the computing time they need. "So that that then becomes a resource scheduling kind of problem, which we're good at," said Lord.

Quantum radio

Yet another area of quantum relevant to telcos is quantum sensing. It uses quantum physics to create what Lord calls ridiculously sensitive sensors that can "pinpoint the location of something down to millimeters," pick up on the vibration of a fiber to deduce that a car has driven on a road above it, or provide alerts about leaking pipes.

Such functionalities could help telcos, which often run extensive fiber optic networks, to better utilize those assets. Because of quantum sensors' higher sensitivity, which can increase communication ranges, the technology could also yield better radios. In the long run, quantum radio could improve mapping and cell phone communications indoors, underwater, underground and in urban canyons.

In 2022, BT trialled quantum antenna technology that relies on excited atomic states, increasing sensitivity compared with traditional technologies. Its atomic radio frequency receiver can pick up weaker signals, and it could be placed inside passive optical receivers in hard-to-reach areas to improve mobile coverage. According to the company, the technology is still in its early stages, but it could eventually make smart cities, IoT and smart agriculture cheaper to implement.

The demonstration used digital modulation within one of EE's main commercial 5G frequency ranges. And earlier this year, the company used a quantum optical radio receiver to make a three-way Microsoft Teams call between three UK locations using EE's 4G spectrum. While a lot of quantum technology might still be far from deployment, BT reckons this particular technology could be deployed in three to five years' time, reportedTelcoTitans.

Although quantum computing and sensing have clearly caught the eye of the telecom industry, it's impossible to tell when these technologies may be ready for prime time, especially in the case of quantum computing. But unlike Schrdinger's unlucky cat, we at least know they are alive and kicking.

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Ethiopia to start mining Bitcoin through new data mining partnership – CryptoSlate

The Ethiopian government is set to begin mining Bitcoin through a new partnership with Data Center Service a subsidiary of West Data Group, according to Ethiopia-based Hashlabs Mining CEO Kal Kassa.

The partnership was announced by the countrys sovereign wealth fund, Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) on Feb. 15.

Under the collaboration, the sovereign wealth fund will invest $250 million in establishing cutting-edge infrastructure for data mining and artificial intelligence (AI) training operations in Ethiopia.

Kassa said the deal includes setting up Bitcoin mining operations using Canaan Avalon miners and is part of the countrys broader strategy to leverage its technological and energy resources to attract international investment and foster economic growth.

However, the government has yet to confirm the news officially.EIH did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.

The news comes amid a spike in miner activity due to the impending halving, which is less than 65 days away and set to reduce mining rewards by 50%. Many miners have already begun expansion efforts to position themselves appropriately.

The venture is not without its challenges and controversies, particularly concerning the energy-intensive nature of Bitcoin mining.

Theres an ongoing debate about the impact of such operations on local electricity supply, especially in a country where energy access remains a pressing issue for a significant portion of the population.

Despite these concerns, the Ethiopian governments move towards regulating cryptographic products, including mining, reflects a cautious yet optimistic approach to embracing the potential economic benefits of Bitcoin mining.

This regulatory framework aims to ensure that the sectors growth does not come at the expense of the countrys energy security or environmental commitments.

The new rules have paved the way for mining companies to set up shop in the country. Recent media reports revealed a significant increase in Chinese miners moving to the country as part of the BRICS movement.

There has been a notable influx of Chinese miners in Ethiopia over the past few months, drawn by the countrys strategic initiatives and favorable conditions.

The trend is part of a larger movement that has seen Chinese Bitcoin mining operations relocate in response to regulatory pressures at home and the search for cost-effective, regulatory-friendly environments abroad.

Ethiopias low electricity costs, primarily due to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, represent a primary lure for Chinese miners. This factor, coupled with the Ethiopian governments openness to technological investments and its efforts to foster a conducive environment for high-performance computing and data mining, has made the country an attractive destination for these operations.

The dams role in providing affordable, renewable energy aligns with the miners needs for sustainable and economically viable power sources for their energy-intensive operations.

The arrival of Chinese miners is underpinned by broader geopolitical and economic considerations. Chinas increasing involvement in Ethiopia, characterized by significant investments across various sectors, has established a solid foundation for such ventures.

The relationship is further reinforced by Ethiopias strategic importance to China as a partner in Africa, offering Chinese companies a hospitable environment for expanding their operations, including Bitcoin mining.

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AI Data Mining Cloak and Dagger. Nightshade AI Poisoning and Anti-Theft | by Aleia Knight | Feb, 2024 – Medium

Probably the biggest use of AI, commercially, has been for art. Models like DALL-E or Midjourney create anything from fantasy landscapes of modern people lounging with dragons to making a 1:1 recreation of the Mona Lisa. The biggest pushback for these models came from artists who, while making their creations public, did not consent to have their creations' data mined for AI training models. Oftentimes, I see people having an AI model take art specifically from a certain artist and then having it create a commission, rather than paying the artist themself to make it.

impersonating real people online with bot accounts, text generation, and image generation.

The Deepfake situation alone has escalated to the point that it has gotten to the desks of White House representatives. A big push was this was the recent Taylor Swift situation in which a user was using AI to scrap images of her from around the internet and create nude images of her, that she never took and without her consent. Imagine, if this can happen to a realistic scale with a celebrity, what that could impact on a social and political level, especially in terms of image, trust, and information exchange.

Even more so, at the beginining of 2024, when a video was release of a fake robocall from President Joe Biden urging the voters of New Hampshire not to vote.

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Ethiopia Embarks on a $250M Data and AI Venture with Hong Kong Firm – TradingView

Key points:

The Ethiopian government, through its investment arm, Ethiopian Investment Holdings, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Data Center Service, a subsidiary branch of the Hong Kong-based West Data Group. This partnership, valued at $250 million, aims to pioneer sophisticated data mining and artificial intelligence (AI) training facilities within Ethiopia.

State-owned Ethiopian Investment Holdings has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Data Center Service, a subsidiary of Hong Kongs West Data Group. They will cooperate on a $250-million project to establishing cutting-edge infrastructure for bitcoin mining and AI training.

Kal Kassa, the CEO of Hashlabs Mining, revealed on an X post that through this joint venture, the Ethiopian government will delve into bitcoin mining operations. Hashlabs Mining highlights the countrys openness to mining activities since 2022, despite its stance against cryptocurrency trading.

The initiative seems to gain further complexity with the Ethiopian governments experimental sandbox for cryptographic products licensing, per a Bloomberg report dated February 7.

Additionally, Ethiopia, benefiting from low electricity rates thanks to the partially operational Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, faces a dilemma. The nation boasts the worlds second-lowest electricity prices yet struggles to provide consistent electricity access to half its population. This disparity fuels the debate on the prioritization of resources in the country.

As per another report, the presence of 21 crypto miners in Ethiopia, predominantly Chinese, underscores the global interest in Ethiopias potential as a mining hub. This interest persists despite the crypto trading and mining ban in their home country, China.

Ethiopias government has also engaged with the crypto mining community, supported by entities like Project Mano and BitcoinBirr, coupled with its collaboration with Cardano blockchains IOHK to revamp its education system.

West Data Group, known for its blockchain-fueled fintech solutions and data centers globally, brings to the table its expertise in Bitcoin mining, digital currency investment, and trading. Established in 2017 with its first data center in Kentucky, the company has expanded its footprint to Texas, Kazakhstan, Angola, and Kenya, signaling a robust commitment to digital currency endeavors.

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A Breakthrough in the Control of Quantum Phenomena at Room Temperature Has Been Achieved, Researchers Say – The Debrief

Quantum physics and mechanical engineering have been united in a breakthrough method allowing the control of quantum phenomena at room temperature, according to the findings of a pioneering new study.

In quantum mechanics, observing and controlling quantum phenomena has traditionally only occurred under conditions where temperatures approach absolute zero. Theoretically the coldest temperature attainable and roughly equivalent to around -459.67 Fahrenheit, absolute zero is the point at which matter becomes so cold that the motion of particles would cease.

Although allowing for easier detection of quantum effects, reaching such astoundingly cold temperatures is not easy, and has limited applications and studies involving quantum technologies.

Reaching the regime of room temperature quantum optomechanics has been an open challenge since decades, says Tobias J. Kippenberg, the co-author of a new study that, based on its findings, could finally present practical ways of overcoming such challenges.

According to Kippenberg, the new work has brought what physicists call Heisenbergs microscopeonce only realized as a theoretical modelinto reality.

The new research, co-authored with Kippenbergs colleague Nils Johan Engelsen, was the focus of a new study published in the journal Nature.

In their experiment, the team succeeded in producing a novel, ultra-low noise optomechanical system that enabled studies at the convergence of light and mechanical motion and allowed the team to examine lights influence on moving objects through its precise manipulation.

Attempting to achieve this at room temperature has always been difficult on account of thermal noise, the heat that arises from the motion of particles, and impedes observations of the dynamics of the quantum world.

To overcome the thermal noise issue, Kippenberg and Engelsen used special mirrors that reflect light back and forth within a small space, known as cavity mirrors, to effectively trap photons. Featuring patterns comprised of photonic crystalline structures, the cavity mirrors allowed the light they trapped to be manipulated to interact with the systems mechanical elements.

By using phononic-crystal-patterned cavity mirrors, we reduce the cavity frequency noise by more than 700-fold, the studys authors write in a recent paper describing their findings.

In this ultralow noise cavity, we insert a membrane resonator with high thermal conductance and a quality factor (Q) of 180 million, engineered using recently developed soft-clamping techniques, the authors report.

The experiment also employed a tiny mechanical oscillator to interact with light within the trapped cavity between the mirrors. Using this clever method of isolation, subtle quantum phenomena were able to be discerned even at room temperature.

The mechanical oscillator they used was the culmination of many years of effort, according to Engelsen, who said it allowed them to create mechanical oscillators that are well-isolated from the environment.

Among the studys achievements had also been the successful use of a phenomenon known as optical squeezing, which leverages Heisenbergs principle by manipulating the phase, intensity, or other properties of light in ways that help lessen the amount of fluctuation that occurs within a given variable, which thereby increases fluctuations in another.

In their experiment, the attainment of optical squeezing under such conditions allowed the team to show that control and observation of quantum phenomena in a macroscopic system could indeed be achieved at room temperature.

The system we developed might facilitate new hybrid quantum systems where the mechanical drum strongly interacts with different objects, such as trapped clouds of atoms, said Alberto Beccari, lead author of the new study.

These systems are useful for quantum information, and help us understand how to create large, complex quantum states, Beccari added.

Many potential applications could result from the new research, which might include a broadening of access to quantum optomechanical systems, which could help to facilitate quantum measurement and quantum mechanics at macroscopic scales.

The new paper, Room-temperature quantum optomechanics using an ultralow noise cavity, by Guanhao Huang, Alberto Beccari, Nils J. Engelsen, and Tobias J. Kippenberg, was published on February 14, 2024, in the journal Nature.

Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. He can be reached by email atmicah@thedebrief.org. Follow his work atmicahhanks.comand on X:@MicahHanks.

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Composite Fermions and Quantum Physics: Topological Protection and Anyons – Medriva

The Fascinating World of Composite Fermions and Quantum Physics

In the fascinating realm of quantum physics, composite fermions are emergent particles that play a critical role in the fractional quantum Hall regime. Recent studies show evidence for the formation of a quantized and gapped fractional quantum Hall state at the filling factor =9/11, which is associated with the formation of six-flux composite fermions. These findings shed light on the complex behavior and competition between the Wigner solid and fractional quantum Hall states at filling factors =1/7.

One of the striking features of composite fermions is the topological protection associated with them. This protection is a fundamental aspect of quantum physics that prevents any change in a systems topological properties without a significant input of energy. This inherent stability makes composite fermions an attractive area of study, particularly in the context of quantum computing. Experimental data related to filling factors where fractional quantum Hall states associated with composite fermions are predicted to form, provides valuable insights into their role and potential applications.

Anyons, a type of quasiparticles observed only in two-dimensional systems, have statistical properties intermediate between fermions and bosons. These particles play a significant role in the fractional quantum Hall effect. Companies like Microsoft are investing in research concerning anyons as a potential basis for topological quantum computing. The topological underpinnings of anyons can be traced back to Dirac. Abelian anyons have even been detected in two experiments conducted in 2020, marking a significant milestone in quantum physics research.

Alongside composite fermions and anyons, skyrmion bubbles formed in the Kagome plane of quantum TbMn6Sn6 have raised interest among researchers. The expedient generation of these skyrmion bubbles in versatile forms of lattice chain and isolated one by converging the electron beam opens up new possibilities in the field. The straight movement of the skyrmion bubble slaved to SRT domain interface forming an elastic composite object, and the theoretical validation of the SRT domain interface via convenient electron-assisted heating source, add another layer of complexity and potential to quantum physics studies.

Quantum physics is notorious for its counterintuitive phenomena. Discussions on point particles, the relativistic Schrodinger equation, and the Wigner Friend paradox in the context of relational quantum mechanics, all underscore the complex and often paradoxical nature of quantum physics. Yet, it is within this complexity that the potential for groundbreaking discoveries and applications lies.

From the formation of composite fermions to the role of anyons and skyrmion bubbles, the field of quantum physics continues to reveal new and exciting phenomena. As we delve deeper into the fractional quantum Hall regime and related fields, we can anticipate further breakthroughs that will not only enhance our understanding of the universe but also pave the way for advanced technologies such as quantum computing.

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Composite Fermions and Quantum Physics: Topological Protection and Anyons - Medriva

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