Project 11 challenges everyone to crack the Bitcoin key using a quantum computer. The reward is 1 BTC
The post Project 11 challenges everyone to crack the Bitcoin key using a quantum computer. The reward is 1 BTC appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Project 11, a quantum computing research company, announced a competition titled the Q-Day Prize on April 16, 2025. To win, participants must break the largest portion of a toy version of Bitcoin’s ECC key using Shor’s algorithm on a quantum computer. The deadline is April 5, 2026. The prize: 1 BTC. The mission behind the competition According to researchers, quantum computers will be capable of instantly solving tasks that modern-day computers would need 47 years to complete. Such computational power is widely seen as a threat to cryptocurrency networks, as they would be able to brute-force encrypted data. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are especially vulnerable, as newer coins were made with quantum resistance in mind. Although some see the contest as a threat to Bitcoin’s security, Project 11 claims the real mission is to avoid future security breaches associated with quantum computing progress, estimate the risks, and take proper action to respond to the threat in time. 10 million+ addresses have exposed public keys. Quantum computing is steadily progressing. Nobody has rigorously benchmarked this threat yet. — Project 11 (@qdayclock) April 16, 2025 As Project 11 puts it in the announcement on the company’s X account, the mission is to protect six million bitcoins. Project 11 explains that currently, Bitcoin’s security heavily relies on elliptic curve cryptography, allegedly vulnerable to quantum computers running Shor’s algorithm. Breaking this protection is a question of time. The idea behind the competition is to benchmark this threat and get practical data to work with in creating solutions that will protect the Bitcoin network from quantum computers. According to the conditions list, Project 11 does not anticipate that someone will break the entire Bitcoin key. The company urges competitors to try to break small portions of the 256-bit key. Project 11 offers toy keys…
Filed under: News - @ April 18, 2025 2:27 am