Post-quantum startup Project Eleven today awarded a 1 BTC ($77,736 at time of writing) prize to independent researcher Giancarlo Lelli for the latest and largest demonstration of a quantum attack on elliptic curve cryptography (ECC).
Using a publicly accessible quantum computer, Lelli succeeded in deriving a 15-bit elliptic curve private key from its public key counterpart in about 45 minutes. He used a variation of Shor’s algorithm to solve the elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem (ECDLP), which has its origins in the digital signatures of Bitcoin and Ethereum.
the turn It represents a 512-fold increase in the total complexity of the search space, or 32,768 possible private key combinations, of which only one is correct. It also breaks the first ever previous 6-bit splitter, which was achieved in September 2025 by Steve Tippeconnic.
Quantum computing and blockchain
Although it’s nice, the 15-bit fraction is currently irrelevant to Bitcoin’s 256-bit ECC. Lelli also used 27 physical qubits for the attack, while Google estimates that the requirements to crack Bitcoin are between 10,000 and 500,000 physical qubits.
Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) could enable the development of stable, high-performance quantum computers. These devices can then use artificial intelligence to scale quantum attacks on Bitcoin and other blockchains.
IBM, Microsoft and Google are among the world’s leading technology giants researching quantum technology. The latter has set a deadline of 2029 for post-quantum cryptography to mitigate quantum risks.
Who is most at risk?
Addresses whose public keys have been exposed are among the most vulnerable. The list includes legacy addresses (P2PK) containing a total of 6.9 million bitcoins, reused addresses, and those that were transacted on the Bitcoin core upgrade. In the case of Bitcoin, the 10-minute transaction confirmation window that makes public keys visible presents an opportunity for quantum hacking.
The decentralization of Blockchains makes it more difficult coordination Quantitative audit efforts outpace banks, which can implement a top-to-bottom security update overnight, if not immediately.
Cryptographic systems must now rise to the challenge of protecting their integrity to foster further development of what is now a $2.6 trillion industry.
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