Researcher Claims 1 Bitcoin Bounty for Achieving Largest Quantum Attack on Fundamental Tech

The theoretical threat of quantum attacks on bitcoin has become more tangible. 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, posing a potential threat to bitcoin, ether, and other major blockchains. Elliptic curve cryptography, which enables crypto wallets to prove fund control without revealing private keys, is being challenged by quantum computers utilizing Shor's algorithm. Although Lelli's result does not imply an imminent threat to bitcoin, which uses 256-bit elliptic curve security, it signifies a significant step forward in quantum attacks on real-world cryptography-based products. The previous public break was a 6-bit demonstration, and Lelli's 15-bit result represents a 512-fold increase in just seven months. Theoretical estimates suggest that the resource requirements for such attacks are decreasing rapidly, with a Google Research paper estimating the cost of a full 256-bit attack to be below 500,000 physical qubits. This has significant implications for wallets with publicly visible keys, with approximately 6.9 million bitcoin, or one-third of the total supply, potentially at risk. In response, bitcoin developers have proposed migration paths, including the introduction of quantum-safe address types, while other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Tron, StarkWare, and Ripple have also published post-quantum transition plans.