By Jason Nelson
Publication Date: 2026-03-16 21:04:00
In brief
- IBM expanded its free quantum computing program, increasing runtime and hardware access for researchers.
- The company opened its Heron R2 processor to users who were previously limited to entry-level systems.
- Advances in quantum research are pushing Bitcoin developers to prepare for future cryptographic risks.
IBM is expanding free access to its quantum computers, giving researchers more time with powerful hardware to run experiments as the threat of future quantum advancements hangs over the crypto industry.
The company said Monday it is updating the IBM Quantum Open Plan, a free cloud platform that lets anyone run experiments on real quantum machines. The changes increase runtime limits, add new training resources, and allow access to one of IBM’s more advanced processors.
“Starting today, researchers on the Open Plan who use 20 minutes of runtime within any 12-month period can opt in to a special one-time promotion and get 180 minutes of runtime for the next 12…