Although the term ‘quantum battery’ is a bit of a vague term, the cell that [Kieran Hymas] et al. demonstrate in a recent paper does seem to suggest that it uses quantum effects to charge faster than would otherwise be possible, with this rate increasing faster than its volume, meaning at a superextensive rate.

The general idea behind a quantum battery is that these somehow use a quantum effect to store and release energy faster than would be possible using classical physics. First proposed in 2013, the initial Dicke model saw its theoretical quantum advantage shot down by 2020, leading to the search for alternative models.

We have previously seen claims of a quantum advantage in batteries based on the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model, such as by [Davide Rossini] et al., but this new paper may be the first prototype cell demonstrating a reproducible effect.

In the here demonstrated cell a microcavity is created with strong light-matter coupling, allowing for both energy storage and discharging, with the illuminated particles super-absorbing the light with what the researchers claim to be due to these particles cooperating using a quantum mechanism. Effectively scaling up the cell would thus scale up the charge- and discharge rate faster than in a conventional chemical cell.

Whether this demonstration can be replicated and expanded upon remains to be seen, naturally. The stored energy in this experiment was very small and the storage time only very brief, so for now it serves primarily as an interesting experimental result for researchers to dig through.

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Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Security Expert Jameson Lopp: Cyberattacks on “Exponential” Path

Bitcoin Core just changed its security policy because AI can find bugs with a simple prompt. Jameson Lopp explains the bigger trend behind it: two and a half months of exponential growth in vulnerability discovery, attackers adopting uncensored AI models first, and security researchers who “have not been able to get a lot of rest.” He breaks down the PHP remote code execution flaw, why the fallout was smaller than expected, and why security now has to be real time and built into the development pipeline instead of a once-a-year audit.

Chapters:
0:00 Bitcoin Core Changes Its Security Policy: AI Finds Bugs With a Simple Prompt
1:04 Google’s 500,000-Qubit Estimate: Physical vs. Logical Qubits
2:00 The Quantum Timeline: “If We Have Less Than a Decade, We’re Behind”
2:57 Why We Don’t Have a Quantum Computer With More Than a Few Hundred Usable Qubits
4:26 30% of Addresses Have Exposed Keys: Who Attackers Would Target First
6:27 Why a Quantum Upgrade Will Take Years: Taproot, Consensus and Untested Cryptography
7:54 The PHP Remote Code Execution Flaw Explained
9:41 The Real Trend: Exponential AI Vulnerability Discovery and Exhausted Defenders
10:54 Security Must Be Real Time: From Annual Audits to the Development Pipeline
13:19 Hardware That Can’t Be Patched, and Why Wrench Attacks Have Topped 700

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of BTC Inc., Bitcoin Magazine, or any affiliated entities. This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice. Nothing contained in this show constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any securities or financial instruments. Viewers should consult their own advisors before making financial or business decisions.

This post Bitcoin Security Expert Jameson Lopp: Cyberattacks on “Exponential” Path first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Patrick Green.

TL;DR: Zakura has proposed assigning a separate viewing key to each Zcash swap made through NEAR Intents, reducing how much transaction history a future attacker might be able to link.

Zcash’s privacy model is built around shielding transaction details, but cross-chain swaps introduce awkward points where information can become public. A new proposal from Zcash software developer Zakura focuses on one of those points: the refund addresses involved when shielded ZEC moves through NEAR Intents.

A publicly visible address can be linked to a wallet’s viewing-key structure. If future cryptographic advances allowed an attacker to recover or exploit that relationship, exposing one address could reveal more of a user’s transaction history than intended.

Zakura’s proposed answer is to give each swap its own viewing key while leaving spending authority under the user’s control. A compromised viewing key would then reveal information related to one swap, rather than opening a window onto an entire wallet’s past.

The design also contemplates private information retrieval, allowing software to locate relevant refunds without broadcasting which addresses a user is checking.

This isn’t a response to a demonstrated quantum attack against Zcash. It is preventative engineering based on a possible future risk. The proposal remains under review, and supporters have not yet delivered a widely deployed solution.

That distinction matters. Good privacy work often means fixing linkability problems before they become exploitable, but protection must still be implemented, audited and adopted by wallets before it benefits ordinary users.

Written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.

TL;DR: Zakura has proposed assigning a separate viewing key to each Zcash swap made through NEAR Intents, reducing how much transaction history a future attacker might be able to link.

Zcash’s privacy model is built around shielding transaction details, but cross-chain swaps introduce awkward points where information can become public. A new proposal from Zcash software developer Zakura focuses on one of those points: the refund addresses involved when shielded ZEC moves through NEAR Intents.

A publicly visible address can be linked to a wallet’s viewing-key structure. If future cryptographic advances allowed an attacker to recover or exploit that relationship, exposing one address could reveal more of a user’s transaction history than intended.

Zakura’s proposed answer is to give each swap its own viewing key while leaving spending authority under the user’s control. A compromised viewing key would then reveal information related to one swap, rather than opening a window onto an entire wallet’s past.

The design also contemplates private information retrieval, allowing software to locate relevant refunds without broadcasting which addresses a user is checking.

This isn’t a response to a demonstrated quantum attack against Zcash. It is preventative engineering based on a possible future risk. The proposal remains under review, and supporters have not yet delivered a widely deployed solution.

That distinction matters. Good privacy work often means fixing linkability problems before they become exploitable, but protection must still be implemented, audited and adopted by wallets before it benefits ordinary users.

Written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.

Bitcoin Magazine

Charles Edwards: Why Quantum Risk Could Be MASSIVE BTC Upside Catalyst

What will it take for Bitcoin to break to new all-time highs? Charles Edwards says something substantial has to happen, whether it’s real progress on quantum, a shift in Fed policy, the U.S. government buying Bitcoin, or a stimulus event. He also discusses how institutional buying through ETFs is keeping the backdrop strong.

Chapters:
0:00 – Charles Edwards on Rates, Liquidity and Bitcoin’s Market Outlook
1:36 – ETFs vs. Treasury Companies: Who’s Driving Bitcoin Buying?
2:54 – How AI-Driven Unemployment Could Change the Fed and Bitcoin
4:01 – Hash Ribbons: Why Rising Hash Rate Is a Bullish Signal
6:13 – Is This Hash Rate Cycle Different With AI?
8:14 – Is Bitcoin Still Undervalued? Production Cost, Energy Value and MVRV
10:37 – Global Liquidity, 5% Rates and Bitcoin’s Uncharted Territory
14:50 – Quantum Computing: Why a Roadmap Could Be an Upside Catalyst
17:21 – Can AI Break Bitcoin? Superintelligence and Encryption Risk
19:15 – What Could Trigger Bitcoin’s Next All-Time High

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of BTC Inc., Bitcoin Magazine, or any affiliated entities. This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice. Nothing contained in this show constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any securities or financial instruments. Viewers should consult their own advisors before making financial or business decisions.

This post Charles Edwards: Why Quantum Risk Could Be MASSIVE BTC Upside Catalyst first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Patrick Green.

Bitcoin Magazine

Researchers Build First Working Post-Quantum Defense for Bitcoin’s Lightning Network

Whether or not quantum computers will break Bitcoin one day is a hot topic. 

But what about second-layer solutions like Lightning? 

Well, researchers from East Texas A&M University, North American University, Florida Gulf Coast University, and Florida Institute of Technology have been working on that. 

JUST IN: East Texas A&M University students announce they've built the first post-quantum security solution for the Bitcoin Lightning Network pic.twitter.com/GJYL2a9g2G

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) September 22, 2026

In an announcement Tuesday, the team of researchers said that they built what they describe as the first full post-quantum security design for the Lightning Network.

As first uncovered in a research paper in September, the team said they added post-quantum cryptography to Lightning’s communications, payment requests and related systems, implemented in Rust-Lightning. 

It works like this: The solution layers new quantum-resistant cryptography on top of Lightning’s existing cryptography rather than replacing it. It uses ML-DSA digital signatures and ML-KEM key exchange, post-quantum algorithms standardized by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, alongside the classical methods Lightning already relies on. 

In this hybrid design, an attacker would have to break both the new and the old cryptography to compromise a connection or forge a payment request.

According to the team led by Dr. Ahmet Kurt, an assistant professor in East Texas A&M’s Department of Computer Science and Information Systems, it took about three to four months and roughly 11,000 lines of code — and it’s a complete working implementation, not just a small demo.

Lightning lets users make fast, cheap Bitcoin payments through a network of off-chain channels instead of recording each one on the blockchain. 

Its cryptography could eventually be broken by powerful quantum computers, and that risk exists even if Bitcoin itself gets upgraded, because Lightning has its own communication and payment systems, the team said. 

They added that their work demonstrates that Lightning’s off-chain systems can begin preparing for the quantum era independently while others focus on solutions for the mainnet. 

Quantum researchers have warned that a time will come when Bitcoin’s software — which underpins the biggest and strongest computer network in the world — will need to be upgraded to deal with quantum computing. 

While some crypto VC firms have urged action, top developers in the space have argued that many of today’s quantum computers have limited capabilities.

Still, they have noted that their development could arrive unexpectedly — just like advances with artificial intelligence — and have started developing some solutions, including top Bitcoin infrastructure firm, Blockstream. 

This post Researchers Build First Working Post-Quantum Defense for Bitcoin’s Lightning Network first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

The all-stock deal brings Elisity’s least-privilege access technology into IonQ’s security portfolio.

The post IonQ to Acquire Zero Trust Firm Elisity for Up to $1.3 Billion appeared first on SecurityWeek.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Core developer responds to AI & Quantum Risk

Has AI really changed Bitcoin’s address security, or is it just fear-mongering? Bitcoin Core contributor Antoine Poinsot of Chaincode Labs joins Grace Remington and Sean Hagan to respond to Justin Drake’s viral post. He explains why security researchers need evidence before making claims, and what’s actually at stake with quantum computing risk. He also shares why preparing early matters more than reacting out of fear.

Chapters:
0:00 – Antoine Poinsot Responds to Justin Drake’s Bitcoin Address Security Claims
1:05 – What the Failed Summer Soft Fork Taught Bitcoin
2:35 – BIP 54 Consensus Cleanup: Fixing Long-Standing Bitcoin Bugs
3:44 – Why Bundle Four Fixes Into One Soft Fork
4:53 – Building Consensus to Activate BIP 54
6:53 – How Quantum Theft or Frozen Coins Could Break Trust in Bitcoin
9:08 – BIP 360 vs. BIP 361 vs. P2TR v2
10:38 – Why Hiding Public Keys Behind Hashes Is a Red Herring
11:52 – Lessons From the Coldcard Incident
12:29 – Reducing Single Points of Failure With Multisig and Liana

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of BTC Inc., Bitcoin Magazine, or any affiliated entities. This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice. Nothing contained in this show constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any securities or financial instruments. Viewers should consult their own advisors before making financial or business decisions.

This post Bitcoin Core developer responds to AI & Quantum Risk first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Patrick Green.

PwC’s survey found that only 22% of leaders would use fully autonomous AI for cyber defense, while just 21% are implementing quantum-resistant security measures.

The post Enterprises Struggle to Prepare for AI and Quantum Threats, PwC Says appeared first on SecurityWeek.