The post Is Quantum Computing a Threat to Bitcoin? You Can Get Paid to Break Its Encryption appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

A quantum computing breakthrough could one day undermine the cryptography that secures the Bitcoin blockchain and its nearly $1.7 trillion worth of assets. Now, a BTC bounty is putting that threat to the test. On Wednesday, quantum computing research group Project 11 announced a prize of 1 BTC—currently worth nearly $85,000—for the first team to break a simplified version of Bitcoin’s elliptic curve cryptography, or ECC, using a quantum computer. We just launched the Q-Day Prize. 1 BTC to the first team to break a toy version of Bitcoin’s cryptography using a quantum computer. Deadline: April 5, 2026Mission: Protect 6M BTC (over $500B) — Project 11 (@qdayclock) April 16, 2025 “Bitcoin’s security relies on elliptic curve cryptography. Quantum computers running Shor’s algorithm will eventually break it,” Project 11 wrote on X. “We’re testing how urgent the threat is.” The QDay Prize runs until April 5, 2026, and is open to both individuals and teams. Founded in 2024 by Alex Pruden and Conor Deegan, Project 11 researches the intersection of quantum computing and cryptography, with a focus on the risks these technologies pose to blockchain systems. Project 11 has prepared a set of ECC keys ranging from 1 to 25 bits. Teams must demonstrate their solutions using a key of the targeted length—for example, by cracking a 4-bit key if aiming for that level. It’s a small fraction of Bitcoin’s existing 256-bit encryption. Elliptic curve cryptography is widely used in blockchain for its efficiency and security, but experts warn that quantum computing could undermine it by breaking the computational asymmetry that keeps it secure. And if someone were able to crack Bitcoin’s cryptography, then they could potentially walk away with well more than the contest’s 1 BTC prize. “This is not a challenge to ‘break’ Bitcoin,” Pruden wrote on X. “There…

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Filed under: News - @ April 18, 2025 1:27 am