The California Institute of Technology has found that quantum computers capable of breaking modern cryptography may require far fewer qubits than previously believed, according to a study conducted by the university. Caltech partnered with Oratomic, a quantum computing startup founded by Caltech researchers, to develop a new neutral-atom system in which individual atoms are trapped and controlled with lasers to act as qubits. This could allow a fault-tolerant quantum computer to run Shor’s algorithm, which could potentially threaten RSA and elliptic-curve cryptography used by Bitcoin and Ethereum. The threat has prompted governments and technology firms to migrate to post-quantum cryptography, or encryption designed to withstand quantum attacks. However, major engineering challenges remain, including scaling quantum systems while maintaining extremely low error rates.