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

The threat of quantum attacks on Bitcoin's underlying technology has become more tangible. Quantum security startup Project Eleven 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, posing a potential threat to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major blockchains. Elliptic curve cryptography, which enables crypto wallets to prove fund ownership without revealing private keys, is being challenged by quantum computers utilizing Shor's algorithm. Although Lelli's result does not immediately compromise Bitcoin's security, which relies on 256-bit elliptic curve security, it highlights the rapid progress being made in quantum attacks. 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 a full 256-bit attack are decreasing, with some predictions putting the cost below 500,000 physical qubits. This has significant implications for wallets with publicly visible keys, with approximately 6.9 million Bitcoin at risk. In response, developers are proposing migration paths, including the introduction of quantum-safe address types, to mitigate the threat of quantum attacks.