Breakthrough in Quantum Attack: Researcher Claims 1 Bitcoin Bounty

The threat of quantum attacks on cryptocurrency has become more tangible, as a researcher has successfully broken a 15-bit elliptic curve key on publicly accessible quantum hardware, earning a 1 bitcoin bounty. This achievement, made by Giancarlo Lelli, is considered the largest public demonstration of its kind and has significant implications for the security of major blockchains, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. The bounty, worth approximately $78,000, was awarded by quantum security startup Project Eleven. Elliptic curve cryptography is a crucial component of cryptocurrency wallets, enabling them to prove control over funds without revealing private keys. However, quantum computers running Shor's algorithm can potentially derive private keys from public ones, compromising the security of these wallets. Lelli's breakthrough does not immediately threaten Bitcoin, as it uses 256-bit elliptic curve security, but it does underscore the need for the cryptocurrency community to develop and implement quantum-resistant solutions. The previous public demonstration of a quantum attack on elliptic curve cryptography was a 6-bit break, achieved by Steve Tippeconnic in September 2025. Lelli's 15-bit result represents a 512-fold increase in just seven months, highlighting the rapid progress being made in this field. Theoretical estimates suggest that the resource requirements for a full 256-bit attack are decreasing, with a recent Google Research paper putting the cost below 500,000 physical qubits. This has significant implications for wallets with public keys visible on-chain, with approximately 6.9 million bitcoin, or one-third of the total supply, potentially vulnerable to quantum attacks. In response, Bitcoin developers have proposed migration paths, including the introduction of quantum-safe address types, while other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum and Ripple, have also published post-quantum transition plans.