China launches mass production of silicon-28: a breakthrough for quantum computing
The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has officially announced the start of mass production of ultra-pure silicon-28. The isotopic purity of the material exceeds 99.99%, making it the country's first large-scale production of this level. This event marks an important step in strengthening China's technological sovereignty in the field of quantum computing.
Silicon-28 is an isotope of silicon that plays a key role in creating quantum processors based on silicon technologies. The main advantage of this material is its ability to significantly reduce the level of magnetic interference, which is one of the main problems for qubit stability. In ordinary silicon, the natural content of the silicon-29 isotope (about 4.7%) creates uncontrolled fluctuations that destroy quantum states. Replacing it with pure silicon-28 allows for an order of magnitude increase in qubit coherence time.
Until recently, large-scale production of silicon-28 with such purity was available only to a limited number of countries, including Russia and the United States. China's breakthrough in this area means that Beijing can now independently supply its quantum projects with critically important raw materials, without relying on imports. This is especially relevant amid the intensifying global competition for leadership in quantum technologies.
For the crypto industry, this step has indirect but significant implications. Quantum computing poses a potential threat to modern cryptographic algorithms, including those underlying Bitcoin and Ethereum. The acceleration of quantum processor development, enabled by access to pure silicon-28, brings closer the moment when quantum attacks on blockchain networks become a reality. However, this remains a prospect for 5–10 years, and the industry has time to implement post-quantum cryptography.
Analyst comment: The launch of mass production of silicon-28 is not just a technological novelty, but a strategic move by China in the race for quantum supremacy. For the crypto community, this is another signal of the need to accelerate the transition to algorithms resistant to quantum attacks. This trend can no longer be ignored.