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

The threat of quantum attacks on bitcoin, once considered a distant concern, has become more pronounced with a recent breakthrough. Quantum security startup Project Eleven awarded a 1 bitcoin bounty, valued at approximately $78,000, to independent researcher Giancarlo Lelli 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 enables crypto wallets to prove fund ownership without revealing private keys, is vulnerable to quantum computer attacks using Shor's algorithm. Although Lelli's result does not immediately compromise bitcoin's security, which relies on 256-bit elliptic curve security, it underscores the rapidly advancing capabilities of quantum attacks. The previous public break, a 6-bit demonstration, was surpassed by Lelli's 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, with a recent Google Research paper estimating the cost to be below 500,000 physical qubits. This development has sparked concern among bitcoin developers, with proposed migration paths, including BIP-360, aiming to introduce quantum-safe address types. The broader community, including Ethereum, Tron, StarkWare, and Ripple, is also exploring post-quantum transition plans. With roughly 6.9 million bitcoin, about one-third of the total supply, sitting in wallets with visible public keys, the need for quantum-resistant security measures has become increasingly pressing.