Researcher Claims 1 Bitcoin Bounty for Successfully Executing the Largest Quantum Attack to Date

The threat of quantum attacks on bitcoin's underlying technology has become more tangible. Quantum security startup Project Eleven has awarded a 1 bitcoin bounty, valued at approximately $78,000, to 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 is used to secure crypto wallets, relies on the difficulty of deriving a private key from a public key. However, quantum computers running Shor's algorithm can potentially break this security. Lelli's result, while not an immediate threat to bitcoin's 256-bit elliptic curve security, demonstrates the rapid progress being made in quantum attacks and highlights the need for the development of quantum-safe address types. The previous public break was a 6-bit demonstration, and Lelli's 15-bit result represents a significant increase in just seven months. Theoretical estimates suggest that the resource requirements for a full 256-bit attack are decreasing, making it more feasible for quantum computers to pose a threat to bitcoin's security in the future. As a result, bitcoin developers are proposing migration paths, including the introduction of quantum-safe address types, to mitigate this risk.