Breakthrough in Quantum Attack on Cryptographic Technology Earns Researcher 1 Bitcoin Bounty

The threat of quantum attacks on bitcoin's underlying security has become more real with the latest achievement by independent researcher Giancarlo Lelli. Lelli was awarded a 1 bitcoin bounty, equivalent to approximately $78,000, by quantum security startup Project Eleven for breaking a 15-bit elliptic curve key on publicly accessible quantum hardware. This breakthrough demonstrates a 512-fold increase in the scale of the attack compared to the previous public demonstration in September 2025. The achievement highlights the rapidly advancing capabilities in quantum computing and its potential implications for the security of major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether. Elliptic curve cryptography, which underpins the security of these cryptocurrencies, relies on the difficulty of deriving a private key from its public counterpart. However, quantum computers, utilizing Shor's algorithm, pose a significant challenge to this assumption. Lelli's achievement does not immediately compromise the security of bitcoin, as it uses 256-bit elliptic curve security, far exceeding the 15-bit key broken in this experiment. Nonetheless, the advancing capabilities in quantum computing and the decreasing resource requirements for such attacks underscore the need for the development of quantum-resistant cryptographic solutions. The bitcoin community is exploring migration paths, including the implementation of quantum-safe address types, to mitigate the risks associated with quantum attacks.