Many quantum computing stocks exploded in value last year as investors hoped to get ahead of the crowd in what could be a transformational wave of new technology. Excitement grew

Several stocks across the quantum computing industry fell sharply Wednesday after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the technology is likely still years away.

Alphabet subsidiary Google recently announced two major technical achievements with its Willow quantum computing chip. In response to the news, shares of Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) and D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS) during the next three weeks advanced 280% and 110%,

Quantum computing was one of the hot trends of the past few months as stocks have doubled or more following Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOG) Willow announcement. Investors looking for any way to play the quantum computing space have pushed microcap stocks into the stratosphere.

Though investors saw this as disappointing, there is some reassuring news. Quantum computing is progressing, meaning these companies will likely report accomplishments and milestones in the months and years to come -- and these represent catalysts for quantum computer stocks to climb.

Long relegated to science fiction, quantum computing seems to finally becoming a reality, and Wall Street has taken notice. What makes quantum computing so powerful is the use of “qubits.” Qubits are special because they can represent 0,