Money of the Future: Scientists Present Quantum Banknote Prototype

A group of physicists has reportedly presented what may well be a prototype for fraud-proof 'quantum money'.

Using an image encoded in the polarization states of single photons, the researchers experimentally confirmed that it is possible to create a banknote that would be virtually immune to unauthorized replication due to the fact that unknown quantum information cannot be perfectly copied.

It should be noted that the published image is merely a prototype, as actual quantum money hasn't been printed yet.

"We demonstrate that it is possible to use quantum states to prepare a banknote that cannot be ideally copied without making the owner aware of unauthorized actions. We provide the security conditions for quantum money by investigating the physically-achievable limits on the fidelity of 1-to-2 copying of arbitrary sequences of qubits. These results can be applied as a security measure in quantum digital rights management," the researchers declared.

The idea of 'quantum money' was originally proposed by physicist Stephen Wiesner, who in a paper that was published in 1983 argued that by using quantum physics one could create banknotes that would be impossible to forge.