Breakthrough in Quantum Attack: Researcher Claims 1 Bitcoin Bounty

A recent quantum attack on elliptic curve cryptography has sparked concern among cryptocurrency developers and enthusiasts. Independent researcher Giancarlo Lelli successfully broke a 15-bit elliptic curve key using publicly accessible quantum hardware, earning a 1 bitcoin bounty from quantum security startup Project Eleven. This achievement marks a significant milestone in the development of quantum computing and its potential impact on the security of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Elliptic curve cryptography is a crucial component of cryptocurrency transactions, allowing users to prove control over funds without revealing their private keys. However, quantum computers using Shor's algorithm can potentially break this encryption, compromising the security of cryptocurrency transactions. Lelli's achievement does not pose an immediate threat to Bitcoin, which uses 256-bit elliptic curve security, but it does demonstrate the rapid progress being made in quantum computing and its potential to challenge the security of cryptocurrency transactions. The previous public demonstration of a quantum attack on elliptic curve cryptography was a 6-bit break, achieved by Steve Tippeconnic in September 2025. Lelli's 15-bit break represents a significant increase in the power of quantum attacks, expanding the previous result by a factor of 512 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 the security of cryptocurrency transactions, particularly for wallets with public keys already visible on-chain. Project Eleven estimates that roughly 6.9 million bitcoin are stored in such addresses, making them potentially vulnerable to quantum attacks. In response to these developments, cryptocurrency developers are exploring migration paths to quantum-safe address types, including the proposed BIP-360 Bitcoin Improvement Proposal. Other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, Tron, StarkWare, and Ripple, have also published post-quantum transition plans to address the potential risks posed by quantum computing.