So, Should I Short Bitcoin?
(This chapter's a bit tough... dummies, run away quick!)
Meanwhile, back when Yoo A-yeon published her proof of the Riemann Hypothesis.
Articles expressing expectations that the Riemann Hypothesis might actually be solved poured out like crazy.
As a result, Bitcoin and all other coins plummeted hard.
There was no clear reason. Few people could explain the exact causal link between the Riemann Hypothesis and Bitcoin.
Most investors didn't know much about math or modern cryptography anyway. It was purely investor 'fear' overwhelming buying with mass selling.
The reactions on Coin Gallery were explosive.
(Selfie of a guy bawling his eyes out)
It was fine before bed, what the hell...
Why can't I ever make money?
After dinnertime, Dad called me over.
"A-yeon-ah. Got a question."
"Whyy, Daddy?"
Dodododo. I toddled over to Dad.
"What's the connection between the Riemann Hypothesis and cryptocurrency?"
It was a pretty out-of-left-field question.
"Hmm... what's that outta nowhere?"
"This is the Bitcoin chart right now. Wanna see?"
Dad turned on his smartphone and showed me a chart.
The coin graph had been steadily climbing, then sharply dropped right on the day I uploaded the Riemann proof to arXiv. But it looked like it'd bounced back a few days later.
I tilted my head.
"Whaaat? No way, cuz of me?"
"Yup. Consensus is it tanked cuz of articles saying the Riemann Hypothesis was proven."
"But... even if the Riemann Hypothesis is solved, it shouldn't directly affect Bitcoin security much..."
"Don't sweat it. Investors dump at the slightest whiff of quantum computer drama. Basically, most sold outta ignorance. Honestly, I don't know the details either."
"Oh, reaaally?"
"Yeah. That's why I wanna know the real deal. Remember back then? When I was Shin I-jun. At that last drinking party before dying, you said Riemann being solved wouldn't break Bitcoin security, that it was conspiracy theory stuff?"
"Did past-me say that? Memory's all fuzzy... total goldfish brain."
I pressed my temple with my finger, trying to recall, but it was hazy. Reincarnation had blurred some past-life memories.
"Yup. But I wasn't that interested then, so I brushed it off... Now I wanna know. What's the exact mechanism?"
"Okie! I'll give ya a special cryptography lecture just for Daddy!"
I puffed out my chest and thumped it with my fist. Thump thump.
Then I dragged Mom in from doing dishes in the kitchen.
"Wha... why me?"
Mom got pulled along, rubber gloves and all.
"Mom gotta listen too! Mom's a math majorrr!"
"R-Really?"
"Unni! Me too wanna listen?"
"You can, but it's too hard for A-rin!"
"Wanna anyway!"
The family gathered around me in a cozy huddle.
And just like that, Professor Yoo A-yeon's special family lecture began.
"Lecture topic... Riemann Hypothesis, primes, modern crypto, and Bitcoin!"
I stood in front of the cute animal-patterned whiteboard in the living room.
"Heave-ho!"
Stepped on the stool to reach, popped the marker cap. Pop.
And started writing carefully. All eyes glued to the board.
Will Bitcoin Be in Danger if the Riemann Hypothesis Is Solved — True?
"Conclusion first: Nope-! Total conspiracy theoryyy!"
I drew a big red X with the marker.
Snap. Dad raised his hand.
"But why did it crash then?"
"That later. I'll explain step by steppp."
First, the Riemann Hypothesis.
"Too specific and y'all won't get it, so basically: Riemann deals with prime distribution. How primes are spread out. Y'all know what primes are?"
Nod nod.
Dad nodded. Mom nodded. A-rin spaced out a sec, then nodded along.
"A-rin doesn't hafta know."
"I do. Numbers only divisible by 1 and itself."
"...How does A-rin know that?"
"Unni told me last timeee."
"Oh... right, yeah. A-rin, good memory?"
"Hehe!"
"Anyway, primes go 2,3,5,7,11,13... but later they get irregular. Way way bigger numbers, gaps between primes can be over a billion. Lotsa mathematicians think no clear pattern."
Riemann Hypothesis → Predicts prime distribution
"Okay, now modern crypto. Most public-key crypto runs on primes. RSA algorithm and Diffie-Hellman key exchange are prime examples. Banking apps we use? Probably this. Public-key crypto's basically essential for sending data online."
Public-key crypto → Crypto for data transfer → Picks primes to use
"Why primes in crypto? Number theory stuff, but basically primes have complex structure, super hard to compute with!"
Public-key crypto → Data transfer crypto → Picks primes → Why? → Super hard to compute!
"But for crypto not to crack, need big primes... and keep 'em secret."
The standard RSA hides massive primes (like 300-digit ones) deep in servers. That's the secret key.
If leaked? "Hackers pls hack my server~" level disaster.
Bank secret key leaks? Your deposits vanish. Poof—into confetti.
"Here's what people worry about.
Okay, crypto safe cuz can't find hidden prime. But Riemann solved = fast prime finding? Then all crypto cracked?"
"... Aha."
Dad nodded like he got it up to there.
"That's the worry. But nope... Riemann predicts prime distribution on average, not exact spots. No help finding bank server primes!"
Riemann → Prime distribution prediction → Not exact prediction → Crypto safe!
"Analogy: Ocean fulla fish schools. One swallowed a ring. Gotta fish 'em one by one. Impossible, right?"
"Ooh! Fishies-! I get it! Super harddd!"
A-rin beamed at the analogy.
"Cracking real crypto? About that hard. Riemann's like a sonar pinging 'fish nearby!' No clue which has the ring!"
"Yeah... no real impact then."
"Yup! People think Riemann's aimbot for ring-fish, but it's way weaker—just says fish are there!"
Of course, that sonar alone's mathematically huge—hence the million-dollar prize. But modern crypto shrugs it off! Thud thud. I stomped the stool.
"Now Bitcoin. Uses two main crypto techs."
SHA-256 / ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Crypto)
"Don't need specifics, these two are Bitcoin security's alpha and omega."
Dad nodded. Mom nodded. A-rin was already dozing off woozily.
SHA-256 → Bit operations based
"First one's not prime-based. Dad knows? Just AND, XOR, NOT bit ops mixed up. No primes involved."
ECDSA → Does use primes → But super hard to compute
"Second's one of those modern cryptos, uses primes yeah, but still super hard. Brute force on computer? Centuries."
Riemann just predicts distributions better—no shortcut for hard computations. Security relies on 'takes forever to compute,' and my paper doesn't break that. Thus, Bitcoin safe!
Why the crash? Prob this thought chain:
Riemann solved → Prime secrets revealed → Modern crypto prime-based? → All crypto hacked? → DOOM PANIC!!!
"Non-experts and conspiracy nuts think like that. Dad too?"
Dad agreed.
"Yeah. Saw it in a docu—Riemann solved means crypto danger or whatever."
"Ugh... that's why noob-friendly docu stations suck... not totally no impact."
"Really?"
Mom asked.
"Yup. Theoretically could affect prime generation or randomness analysis. My paper might inspire new algos later. Dunno yet. But threaten modern crypto? Overhype irl."
Classic case of panic over panic. Chart normalized in days—proof.
"To really threaten, need P=NP proven... that'd be real Great Depression."
P vs NP's one of the seven biggies like Riemann. Prove true? Back to fish analogy: aimbot for ring-fish exists. Or rather, [aimbot method exists] revealed. Crypto collapses, back to pre-internet 1970s civ. Shiver.
"Anyway, lecture over! That concludes Professor A-yeon's special!"
"Ooo-."
Clap clap clap clap. Dad clapped.
Squeeeak squeeeak. Mom clapped with rubber gloves—sticky squeaks.
A-rin clapped too. Clap clap.
"A-rin-ah, get it?"
"Kinda didn't get it!"
"Nihihi. You'll get it later!"
Pop. I capped the marker.