Public-key Quantum Money: Cryptanalysis and the State of the Field

The matter of keeping money, or any item warranting unique verifiable tokens, secure and uncounterfeitable has been one with a long history. Though this may seem less of an issue in the modern day, counterfeiting persists as a real problem with traditional currency options, physical or otherwise. Starting in the 70’s and still developing, the idea has arisen to leverage quantum mechanical properties—foremost of which, in this case, is the extreme difficulty of copying—to create currencies that are much more difficult to counterfeit. This thesis considers the field that is quantum money, covering its origins and focusing on its public-key variant, exploring a key shortcoming of this technology—outside of physical limitations— and contributing to the furthering of the field, through the introduction of a novel efficient attack on a previously secure quantum money scheme.