- Project Eleven’s “Q-Day Prize” offers 1 BTC for cracking Bitcoin’s ECC key using Shor’s algorithm.
- Over 10 million Bitcoin addresses could be at risk from quantum computing advancements.
- Bitcoin is exploring quantum-resistant solutions like QRAMP and CGBS to counter future quantum threats.
Quantum computing firm Project Eleven has launched the “Q-Day Prize” contest, which offers an award of 1 Bitcoin (BTC) to the team that first solves an elliptic curve cryptographic (ECC) key at the heart of Bitcoin security. The competition has been designed to check how exposed Bitcoin is to quantum attacks in modern quantum computing. The winner, who can determine a segment of a Bitcoin ECC key with Shor’s algorithm on a quantum computer, will be given $84,100 worth of Bitcoin, equal to 1 BTC.
The Role of Quantum Computing in Breaking Bitcoin’s Security
Quantum computing thus threatens current cryptosystems, such as the elliptic curve cryptography used in BTC. Shor’s algorithm, a quantum computing approach, can easily factor large key lengths; therefore, a quantum computer can break RSA and ECC cryptographic methods. However, the researchers argue that as quantum computers become more sophisticated, the security of Bitcoin may be at risk.
The competition in Project Eleven aims to discover how far quantum computers are from cracking Bitcoin’s ECC keys. Although no ECC key has been directly attacked in real life, it is very likely that with the advancement in quantum computer technology, this could become a reality. According to the terms of the challenge, participants are expected to use Shor’s algorithm on the largest possible ECC key to gauge the quantum threat.
The Quantum Computing Threat to Bitcoin’s Network
As Project Eleven points out, over 10 million addresses currently have publicly accessible keys. This makes them vulnerable to potential quantum attacks if the technology improves to a certain level. According to its estimation, more than 6,000,000 Bitcoins, equal to nearly $500 billion, can be endangered if the possibility of cracking using quantum computer ECC keys exists.
Even though quantum computing services can be accessed from the internet through service providers such as Amazon Web Services and IBM, the problem remains complex. Project Eleven has big expectations, as the creators aim to show that Shor’s algorithm on a quantum computer can break sections of a BTC key and reach the entire 256-bit key with enough qubits. The keying challenge that started on the 16th of April 2025 will proceed until the 5th of April 2026, and anyone who cracks the key will receive the reward in Bitcoins.
Possible Solutions to Quantum Threats and Industry Reactions
The Bitcoin community has been actively devising measures against quantum threats as BTC witnesses the quantum danger on the horizon. For example, a BIP submitted and completed in April 2025 proposed a QRAMP for Bitcoin. QRAMP can effectively introduce a network-wide quantum-resistant cryptography, which would call for a hard fork and hence be very difficult to implement.
Besides, another quantum startup, BTQ, has recently introduced a new variation to Bitcoin’s PoW called Coarse-Grained Boson Sampling (CGBS) for validation purposes instead of computational problems. As in the case of QRAMP, this solution could only be introduced through a hard fork, and Bitcoin enthusiasts would embrace such a change with caution.
Some individuals in the industry, like Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, recognize quantum risk but are optimistic that bitcoin addresses would be protected before quantum threats manifest themselves. Likewise, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has also sought a recovery hard fork that can guard Ethereum against quantum attacks, hence the need to plan for the same for other blockchain networks.
