A more efficient implementation of Shor's algorithm
Researchers have developed a more efficient implementation of Shor's algorithm that reduces the memory required to break 256-bit elliptic-curve cryptography by a factor of 20, representing a significant theoretical advance despite current hardware limitations. The team chose to publish a zero-knowledge proof verifying their improvement rather than disclosing the full method, citing security concerns. The approach uses fewer than 1,200 logical qubits and 90 million quantum gates, which would require around 500,000 physical qubits on current error-corrected architectures.
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Please consider subscribing to LWN Subscriptions are the lifeblood of LWN.net. If you appreciate this content and would like to see more of it, your subscription will help to ensure that LWN continues to thrive. Please visit this page to join up and keep LWN on the net. By Daroc AldenApril 17, 2026 Shor's algorithm is the main practical example of an algorithm that runs more quickly on a quantum computer than a classical computer — at least in theory. Shor's algorithm allows large numbers to be factored into their component prime factors quickly. In reality, existing quantum computers do not have nearly enough memory to factor interesting numbers using Shor's algorithm, despite decades of research. A new paper provides a major step in that direction, however.
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