(Alliance News) - Quantum Blockchain Technologies PLC on Wednesday said it has completed a key testing phase of its bitcoin mining search algorithm, showing positive results.

The London-based cryptocurrency researcher and investor said the results indicated that the company's algorithm, 'method B', theoretically increases the rate of bitcoin mining by 2.6 times compared to standard industrial practices.

The firm said the results give it confidence that it has identified properties of the SHA-256 cryptographic algorithm that other researchers have not found.

Quantum added that its algorithm also theoretically reduces electricity consumption by 4.3%, meaning that a mining farm with 100,000 miners would save USD4.5 million a year.

If successful testing continues, the company believes its software has the potential to improve the financial performance of bitcoin mining once deployed. Quantum added that it is confident in the scalability of its algorithms for commercial use.

Chief Executive Officer & Chair Francesco Gardin said: "Following nearly two years of research by our machine learning R&D teams, we believe we have achieved conceptually what appears to be a real breakthrough in the bitcoin mining industry. Under rigorous testing conditions, our algorithms are achieving a marked increase in the frequency of successfully mining bitcoin, while lowering electricity use.

"We will now speed up the next phase of testing allowing us to confirm our current results at a degree of difficulty as close as possible to conditions now prevailing in the bitcoin mining industry. In addition, we intend to begin development of the industrial commercialisation phase of our bitcoin mining Method B, including deployment on mining rigs of the type currently in widespread use by larger bitcoin mining corporations."

Quantum Blockchain shares were up 11% to 1.64 pence each in London on Wednesday afternoon.

By Harvey Dorset, Alliance News reporter

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