Researcher Claims 1 Bitcoin Bounty for Achieving Largest Quantum Attack on Underlying Technology

The threat of quantum attacks on bitcoin has become more tangible after an independent researcher, Giancarlo Lelli, broke a 15-bit elliptic curve key on publicly accessible quantum hardware. This achievement has earned Lelli a 1 bitcoin bounty, valued at approximately $78,000, from quantum security startup Project Eleven. The breakthrough is significant as it marks the largest public demonstration of a quantum attack that could potentially threaten the security of bitcoin, ether, and other major blockchains. Elliptic curve cryptography, which is used to secure crypto wallets, relies on the difficulty of deriving a private key from its public counterpart. However, quantum computers can challenge this assumption by using Shor's algorithm to attack the underlying logic. Although Lelli's result does not pose an immediate threat to bitcoin, which uses 256-bit elliptic curve security, it highlights the rapid progress being made in quantum attacks. The previous public break was a 6-bit demonstration, and Lelli's 15-bit result represents a 512-fold increase in just seven months. Theoretical estimates suggest that the resource requirements for a full 256-bit attack are decreasing rapidly, with some estimates putting the cost below 500,000 physical qubits. This has significant implications for wallets with publicly visible addresses, which could be vulnerable to quantum attacks. Bitcoin developers have proposed migration paths, including the introduction of quantum-safe address types, to mitigate this risk. The achievement has sparked concern among bitcoin developers and the broader community, highlighting the need for urgent attention to post-quantum transition plans.