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

The threat of quantum attacks on bitcoin has become more tangible, as an independent researcher has made a significant breakthrough. Giancarlo Lelli was awarded 1 bitcoin, valued at approximately $78,000, by quantum security startup Project Eleven for breaking a 15-bit elliptic curve key on publicly accessible quantum hardware. This achievement marks the largest public demonstration of its kind and has significant implications for the security of bitcoin and other major blockchains. Elliptic curve cryptography, which underpins the security of crypto wallets, relies on the difficulty of deriving a private key from its public counterpart. However, quantum computers, utilizing Shor's algorithm, pose a challenge to this assumption. Lelli's achievement does not mean that bitcoin is on the verge of being compromised, as it uses 256-bit elliptic curve security, but it does highlight the rapidly evolving landscape of quantum attacks. The previous public break was a 6-bit demonstration, and Lelli's 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 predictions putting the cost below 500,000 physical qubits. This has significant implications for wallets with public keys already visible on-chain, with approximately 6.9 million bitcoin at risk. In response, bitcoin developers have proposed migration paths, including the implementation of quantum-safe address types, while other blockchain platforms have also published post-quantum transition plans.