Project Eleven offers $1 million for cracking Bitcoin quantum key

Quantum computing research firm Project Eleven has launched a global challenge offering 1 Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC), valued at approximately $84,100, to anyone who can crack the longest portion of a Bitcoin key using a quantum computer within the next two years.

The competition, called the Q-Day Prize, aims to assess the urgency of the quantum threat to Bitcoin’s cryptographic security and encourage the development of quantum-resistant solutions.

Project Eleven highlighted that over 10 million Bitcoin addresses have exposed public keys, making them potentially vulnerable if quantum computers become capable of breaking elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) keys.

Participants can enter individually or as teams and have until April 5, 2026, to demonstrate their ability to run Shor’s algorithm on a quantum computer to break as many bits of a Bitcoin key as possible.

“The mission: break the largest ECC key possible using Shor’s algorithm on a quantum computer. No classical shortcuts. No hybrid tricks. Pure quantum power,” the firm emphasised.

While no real-world ECC key has ever been cracked, Project Eleven noted that cracking even a small key, such as a 3-bit key, would be a significant milestone.

Current quantum hardware, including IBM’s Heron chip and Google’s Willow, can operate with 156 and 105 qubits respectively, but estimates suggest that around 2,000 error-corrected logical qubits would be necessary to break a full 256-bit Bitcoin key.

Project Eleven anticipates such quantum systems could emerge within the next decade.

Industry experts acknowledge the quantum threat but view it as a long-term concern.

Bitcoin cypherpunk Jameson Lopp said the question of how worried the industry should be remains “unanswerable,” though he considers it “far from a crisis” but worthy of serious discussion.

Tether (CRYPTO:USDT) CEO Paolo Ardoino echoed this view, expressing confidence that quantum-resistant Bitcoin addresses will be implemented well before any serious threat materialises.

At the time of reporting, the Bitcoin (BTC) price was $83,980.10.