- A project claiming to have made key breakthroughs in quantum computing has captured investor attention.
- Several experts question whether the code released by the project backs up its claims.
- Tsotchke says it uses “spin-based quantum computing” to create quantum-enhanced artificial intelligence.
Quantum computing experts are raising the alarm after a crypto project drew in millions from investors by claiming to have made key breakthroughs in the buzzy field.
Tsotchke, which is run by a team of pseudonymous developers, says it uses “spin-based quantum computing” to create quantum-enhanced artificial intelligence.
Yet several experts who work at the intersection of cryptography and quantum computing say they don’t believe that the code the project has released does what its creators say.
“The benchmarks they present are extremely ambitious and difficult to believe,” Paulo Viana, a quantum computing scientist and co-founder at Quant Bond, which conducts quantum algorithm experiments, said on X.
“Quantum computing researchers usually celebrate small incremental improvements, as even small advancements can raise significant milestones,” he said. But Tsotchke takes things further by claiming “groundbreaking improvements across multiple metrics.”
The project’s lead developer, who also goes by the pseudonym Tsotchke, regularly hits back at critics and naysayers on X.
The developer has brushed off detractors as unqualified to comment on the project while claiming to teach mathematical physics at an unnamed university.
In one incident, screenshots of private conversations viewed by DL News also show the Tsotchke account threatening critics.
“Disrespect me again and you’re gone,” one message read.
The project’s token has swelled to a $20 million market value. Over 7,000 wallets are invested in the token, according to data compiled by GeckoTerminal.
Tsotchke declined to reveal their identity: “It’s my choice to remain pseudonymous. It is simply because I am a private person,” they told DL News.
AI gold rush
With the growing popularity of large language models like ChatGPT, artificial intelligence is driving a surge in crypto projects claiming to merge AI with blockchain — and the buzzy innovation, quantum computing.
As with previous crypto trends, there are plenty of projects looking to profit from the hype and increased investor appetite.
Virtuals Protocol, which lets users create and co-own AI agents, soared to a $4.6 billion market value at the start of the year. Another, called ElizaOS, says it’s the first venture capital DAO led by AI agents. It traded with a market value as high as a $2.6 billion.
Tsotchke, which it claims is paving the way for “transformative advances” in machine learning and artificial intelligence, launched its own token on December 4 via the popular memecoin platform pump.fun.
Investors quickly piled in, and pushed it to a market value of $54 million within the month. It has since retraced, and trades at around $20 million.
‘Unprecedented’
Tsotchke makes several bold claims about the technology it says it is developing.
It says it can produce the quantum phenomena which underpin quantum computing without using the specialised hardware used by multi-billion dollar firms like Intel, Diraq, and Hitachi.
Ian Smith, CEO of Quantum EVM, a firm creating a quantum safe blockchain that’s compatible with Ethereum, told DL News he doesn’t find the claims plausible.
“Tsotchke claims to have achieved electron spin quantum computing inside any existing hardware capable of running software written in C,” he said, referring to the programming language.
Tsotchke also says its quantum-based neural network enables “unprecedented processing capabilities” compared to conventional AI, which relies on large language models.
Using quantum systems directly as neural networks is something other quantum researchers have been unable to crack for years, Pierre-Luc Dallaire-Demers, a scientist-in-residence at the University of Calgary, told DL News.
“Fundamentally, it may not be impossible,” Dallaire-Demers said. “But they don’t give any clue that they are targeting the actual critical problems to the approach.”
Random number generator
The only proof onlookers have to verify Tsotchke’s claims is the code posted to the project’s Github, a web-based platform that allows users to store, track, and collaborate on software projects.
Kaushal Kumar Singh, Lead Blockchain Developer at the Quantum Resistant Ledger, reviewed the project’s code and told DL News he didn’t find anything related to blockchain or post-quantum cryptography.
“I noticed a small library that serves as a random number generator based on quantum mechanics principles emulated on a digital computer,” he said.
Quantum EVM’s Smith said he came to the same conclusion after looking at Tsotchke’s code.
“If they removed ‘quantum’ from their branding and just said it was an advanced random number generator, it would be moderately accurate,” he said.
When asked about the criticism, Tsotchke’s lead developer told DL News no serious physicists have ever had any serious criticism about anything he has done.
Who is behind Tsotchke?
The Tsotchke website lists the project’s lead researcher as having 15 years of experience in quantum computing.
“With this much experience, they should be a well-known figure in academia,” Quant Bond’s Viana said.
There are no publications, patents, citations, or named researchers to support the project’s work.
“This absence of credible references — which is the bedrock of scientific research — is highly problematic and affects their credibility,” Viana said.
The account which posted the project’s code to the Tsotchke GitHub is tied to an email address with the handle t_umbach. The email address domain is the same one used by Concordia University, located in Montreal, Canada.
DL News did not receive a reply to an email sent to the address.
Concordia University declined to comment on potential students or employees who could be linked to the address.
Tim Craig is DL News’ Edinburgh-based DeFi Correspondent. Reach out with tips at tim@dlnews.com.
