US EditionResearcher Wins 1 Bitcoin (BTC) for Largest Quantum Attack on Elliptic Curve Yet
The result is the largest public quantum break of an elliptic curve key, and Project Eleven says the barrier to attack is dropping.
- On Friday, quantum security startup Project Eleven awarded 1 Bitcoin to independent researcher Giancarlo Lelli for breaking a 15-bit elliptic curve key on publicly accessible quantum hardware, a bounty worth roughly $78,000.
- While Bitcoin relies on 256-bit elliptic curve security, experts increasingly view the distance to a full-scale quantum breach as an engineering problem rather than a fundamental physics barrier.
- Lelli's result expanded the previous 6-bit demonstration by a factor of 512 in seven months, utilizing a variant of Shor's algorithm on cloud-accessible hardware without national laboratory or private quantum chip resources.
- Roughly 6.9 million Bitcoin remain exposed to quantum attacks because their public keys are visible on-chain, including Satoshi Nakamoto's estimated 1 million holdings, prompting Ethereum, Tron, StarkWare, and Ripple to publish post-quantum transition plans.
- Project Eleven CEO Alex Pruden said "the resource requirements for this type of attack keep dropping," while Google and Caltech research suggests a full 256-bit attack could require as few as 10,000 qubits, intensifying migration urgency.
19 Articles
19 Articles
Researcher wins 1 bitcoin (BTC) for largest quantum attack on elliptic curve yet
Independent researcher Giancarlo Lelli broke a 15-bit elliptic curve key on publicly accessible quantum hardware, 512 times larger than the previous public demonstration in September 2025.
PR Newswire
Project Eleven Awards 1 BTC Q-Day Prize for Largest Quantum Attack on Elliptic Curve Cryptography to Date
/PRNewswire/ -- Project Eleven today awarded the Q-Day Prize, a one Bitcoin bounty, to Giancarlo Lelli for breaking a 15-bit elliptic curve key on a publicly...
A researcher has just broken an elliptical crypto key with a quantum computer accessible to the public, winning 1 Bitcoin. Does this move, 512 times more powerful than the previous one, threaten the security of Bitcoin and blockchains? Article A researcher manages to break a crypto key with a quantum computer accessible to the public has appeared first on Cointribune.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 60% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
