Crypto news

China National Nuclear Corporation has announced the start of serial production of silicon-28 with isotopic purity exceeding 99.99%. This event marks the first time in China's history that this material has been independently produced on a large scale, which has strategic significance for the development of quantum technologies.

Silicon-28 is an isotope of silicon that is virtually devoid of nuclear spin, unlike common silicon-29. It is this property that makes it critically important for creating stable qubits in silicon quantum computers. When using ordinary silicon, magnetic interference caused by nuclear spins leads to decoherence — the loss of quantum state — which sharply reduces computational accuracy.

The launch of mass production allows China not only to meet domestic demand for high-purity material but also to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers. Previously, such isotopes were supplied primarily from Russia and the United States, and in limited quantities. Now Beijing has the opportunity to scale research and development in the field of quantum processors, which will directly impact the speed of implementing quantum algorithms in cryptography and mining.

For the crypto industry, this has a dual significance. On one hand, stable quantum computers threaten current encryption algorithms, including ECDSA used in Bitcoin. On the other hand, it is high-purity silicon-28 that could become the foundation for creating next-generation cryptographic solutions resistant to quantum attacks.

Expert opinion from Cryptalist: We are witnessing not just a technological breakthrough, but a strategic move by China in the race for quantum supremacy. For the crypto community, this is an alarming signal: if mass production of silicon-28 accelerates the creation of quantum processors with 1000+ stable qubits, the lifespan of classic blockchains could shrink to 5-7 years. Investors should already be looking at projects developing post-quantum cryptography.