March 2025
This century has been marked by an increasing understanding of quantum mechanics, with our knowledge being continuously refined and complicated. As such, the quantum computer's potential for drug discovery, decryption and financial optimisation has gained increasing traction. With the United Nations declaring 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, the advent of the quantum technologies has drawn closer than many have prepared for.
As the global community continues to approach the brink of quantum revolution, exciting opportunities and serious challenges have presented themselves to us. Quantum computers have evolved beyond the technological experiments locked in quantum science laboratories, they have become real, including the experimental creation of room-temperature quantum computing technologies at the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre in Western Australia, the radical streamlining of quantum algorithms which calculate the ground state energies of orbital electrons by Nicole Holzmann and her colleagues, and the optimism by firms in their capacity to provide useful commercial applications of quantum computers in less than a decade's time.
As quantum computing continues to gain momentum in its rapid evolution, gaining progress in its abilities, the technology presents great possibilities which can further the endeavours of the global scientific and mathematical communities. However, the risks that quantum computers pose to cryptography, security and privacy, as well as financial assets cannot be ignored.
There has been great debate about the timeline that quantum technology will occupy, whether quantum computers will be a commodity within the next 5 years, or if it will take decades before a fully functioning machine is made. It is constantly too early, yet too late to react to quantum technology. Ultimately, while it is hard to predict when exactly a quantum revolution will take place, it is necessary to acknowledge the slow yet inevitable progress being made in this industry.
As such, this whitepaper aims to investigate the fundamentals of quantum computing, giving an overview of the generalised risks and opportunities of quantum computing, based on insights gathered at the Insights Forum held at the Singapore FinTech Festival in November 2024. This is supplemented by specific opportunities and risks present in the finance and banking industry. Finally, this article discusses the specific preparations and preventative measures that companies can take to ensure that they are ready for a post-quantum future.
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