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

The quantum threat to Bitcoin's security has become more tangible with the latest breakthrough by independent researcher Giancarlo Lelli, who has been 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 to date, with the previous record being a 6-bit demonstration by Steve Tippeconnic in September 2025. Elliptic curve cryptography is crucial for the security of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, as it enables wallets to prove ownership of funds without revealing their private keys. However, quantum computers, utilizing Shor's algorithm, pose a significant threat to this security by potentially deriving private keys from their public counterparts. Lelli's achievement, although not an immediate threat to Bitcoin's 256-bit elliptic curve security, highlights the rapid progress in quantum attacks, with the search space increasing by a factor of 512 in just seven months. Theoretical estimates also 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 has significant implications for the security of cryptocurrencies, particularly for wallets with publicly visible keys, with Project Eleven estimating that roughly 6.9 million bitcoin are at risk. In response, developers have proposed migration paths, including the introduction of quantum-safe address types, to mitigate the potential threat of quantum attacks.