New Gmail Feature Highlights Crypto Wallet Usability Issues

Alphabet Inc. CEO Sundar Pichai shared the latest update about Gmail addresses on X.

If a user has created a username with random characters for their Gmail account, they can change it to their preference. Users can go to their Google account settings and select the available name to change it.

Pichai said, “You’ll keep your old username, and you can sign in with both.

This service will be rolled out to all users; however, it may not be available for everyone right now.

Google’s new feature to replace the old username

Until now, Gmail users were stuck with the username they created. Now, Google is offering users a new feature to update their email usernames, finally bringing a way to change outdated or embarrassing IDs. Users do not need to create a new account and maintain the existing one.

The username can be changed by going to the Google Account sign-in page and clicking Create Account. The feature began rolling out last year and is now available to all Google Account users in the United States.

Google also noted that all existing data, including email, photos, and files stored across services like Gmail, Maps, Drive, and YouTube, will remain intact after the change. Messages delivered to the old address will be delivered.

For now, the feature will be available only for users in the United States. The firm has not confirmed a timeline for global rollout. Additionally, users can only create a new username once every 12 months. This means they have to wait a year before changing their username again.

Issues With Crypto Wallets

Developments in the crypto industry are different from developments in other areas. Users holding virtual assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) store them in wallets with long strings of random letters that are tough to remember and can be mistyped easily.

So, token holders should remember their wallet address and pay immense attention during transactions. If they share the wrong address with a sender, the crypto funds meant for a certain individual will land in another person’s wallet. Such instances have become common, and a fraudster can easily exploit such situations to steal funds.

Many expect that crypto developers will likely follow Google’s initiative, making wallet addresses much easier for people to read. This could also enable faster and easier transactions.

Google’s Warning

Google recently published a white paper warning that the quantum system could be powerful enough in the coming years. It has the potential to break Bitcoin’s encryption. Google said it designed two types of attacks, and each requires roughly 1,200 to 1,450 high-quality qubits.

A crypto wallet address is a short hash of a public key, an encoded text enabling users to receive crypto assets into their wallets. During a transaction, the public key is revealed for a brief period. Rather than targeting old wallets, a quantum attacker could go after transactions in real time.

Google notes that a powerful quantum system can use the public key to find the private key and steal the crypto funds. Moreover, it can crack a Bitcoin transaction in about nine minutes, potentially beating confirmation by about 41% and putting 6.9 million Bitcoin at risk.

Although this is not an immediate threat, Google recommends migration to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to address potential risks related to cryptocurrencies in the future. Other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum may be less exposed to this specific risk, as they enable faster transactions, leaving less time for an attack.