Project Eleven, a quantum computing research and advocacy firm, has launched the Q-Day Prize, a global competition offering 1 bitcoin (BTC) to the first team able to break an elliptic curve cryptographic (ECC) key, the cryptography which secures the Bitcoin network, using Shor\u2019s algorithm on a quantum computer.<\/p>\n
Shor’s algorithm is a quantum computing method that efficiently factors large numbers into their prime components, theoretically allowing quantum computers to break cryptographic algorithms like RSA and elliptic-curve cryptography used in Bitcoin and other blockchain networks.<\/p>\n
\nWe just launched the Q-Day Prize. <\/p>\n
1 BTC to the first team to break a toy version of Bitcoin\u2019s cryptography using a quantum computer.<\/p>\n
Deadline: April 5, 2026
Mission: Protect 6M BTC (over $500B)<\/p>\n\u2014 Project 11 (@qdayclock) April 16, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The contest comes as quantum computing advancements mean that a workable quantum computer might only be years away. Project Elevent has also identified more than 10 million bitcoin addresses with non-zero balances potentially at risk of quantum attacks.<\/p>\n
The Bitcoin community is aware of the quantum computing threat and is working on solutions.<\/p>\n
As CoinDesk previously reported<\/a>, a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP), titled Quantum-Resistant Address Migration Protocol (QRAMP), was introduced in early April, which suggests enforcing a network-wide migration to post-quantum cryptography to safeguard Bitcoin wallets. This would require a hard fork, however, and getting that sort of consensus would be an uphill battle.<\/p>\n
Quantum startup BTQ has also proposed its own solution: a quantum-based alternative to Bitcoin\u2019s Proof of Work<\/a> called Coarse-Grained Boson Sampling (CGBS).<\/p>\n
CGBS works by using quantum computing to generate unique patterns of photons (light particles called bosons), replacing traditional mining puzzles with quantum-based sampling tasks for validation. <\/p>\n
But BTQ’s CGBS also requires a hard fork, and the appetite for such a change isn\u2019t yet known.<\/p>\n