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A substantial flaw in either SHA-256 or secp256k1 (for example) could render BTC utterly worthless in an instant.
It will be cracked one day. But after 20 years of people trying, it doesn't feel very close as yet.
It'll be really interesting to see how crypto quantum proofs itself.
Don't forget that the problem is bigger than crypto itself. If somebody cracked sha256 today, its the entire world's banking systems and internet at risk...not just Bitcoin.
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That's where layer two comes in. The Lightning Network (and its like) could facilitate smaller transactions off-chain to free up capacity and offer lower fees.
Stonehedge
georgert
@Greenbank
Indeed. Cryptocurrencies will always be at risk of imminent collapse until they can cope with a huge number of microtransactions. Just work out how much it would cost for me to send £5 to someone else via BTC - transaction fees overwhelm small amounts such as that.
It's also one cryptographic flaw away from falling apart completely.
A substantial flaw in either SHA-256 or secp256k1 (for example) could render BTC utterly worthless in an instant.