A quantum‑computing collective often known as Venture Eleven has thrown down a public gauntlet to the worldwide cryptography group, providing a reward of 1 Bitcoin to the primary staff that may break a intentionally down‑scaled model of Bitcoin’s elliptic‑curve cryptography utilizing a real quantum laptop earlier than 5 April 2026.
Saying what it calls the “Q‑Day Prize” on X, the group wrote: “We simply launched the Q‑Day Prize. 1 BTC to the primary staff to interrupt a toy model of Bitcoin’s cryptography utilizing a quantum laptop. Deadline: April 5, 2026. Mission: Defend 6 M BTC (over $500 B).” The put up crystallises a priority that has hovered over the Bitcoin ecosystem for greater than a decade: the eventual arrival of huge‑scale, error‑corrected quantum {hardware} able to operating Shor’s algorithm towards actual‑world keys.
Venture Eleven isn’t asking contestants to shatter Bitcoin’s 256‑bit curve instantly. As a substitute, groups should reveal Shor’s algorithm towards elliptic‑curve keys starting from one to twenty‑5 bits—sizes derisively known as “toy” by skilled cryptographers however nonetheless orders of magnitude past what has been publicly achieved on bodily quantum processors. The organisers argue that even a 3‑bit break can be “huge information,” as a result of it might present the primary quantitatively verifiable benchmark of quantum progress on the elliptic‑curve discrete‑log drawback (ECDLP). Of their phrases, “No one has rigorously benchmarked this menace but.”
To qualify, a submission should embody gate‑stage code or specific directions runnable on precise quantum {hardware}, together with a story of strategies employed, error‑charges managed and the classical put up‑processing required. Hybrid assaults that lean on classical shortcuts are disallowed. All entries shall be printed, a choice the group frames as an train in radical transparency: “As a substitute of ready for breakthroughs to occur behind closed doorways, we imagine in dealing with this problem head‑on, in a clear and rigorous method.”
Why 1 Bitcoin—And Why Now?
Bitcoin’s safety finally rests on the hardness of the discrete‑logarithm drawback over the secp256k1 curve. Whereas classical assaults scale exponentially, Peter Shor’s 1994 quantum algorithm may in precept resolve the issue in polynomial time, collapsing the associated fee from cosmic to merely gargantuan. Present analysis estimates that on the order of two thousand totally error‑corrected logical qubits—maybe backed by tens of millions of bodily qubits—can be adequate to threaten a 256‑bit key. Firms such as Google, IBM, IonQ and newcomer QuEra are racing to cross the 4‑digit logical‑qubit threshold, although none has publicly demonstrated something near that functionality in the present day.
Venture Eleven says its prize is meant much less as a bounty and extra as a diagnostic. Greater than ten million Bitcoin addresses, holding over six million cash, have already uncovered their public keys by way of prior spending exercise. If quantum know-how crosses the crucial threshold earlier than these cash are migrated to put up‑quantum addresses, the funds can be weak to quick theft. “Quantum computing is steadily progressing,” the group warns. “When that occurs, we have to know.”
The initiative lands amid a flurry of quantum‑resilience proposals inside the wider Bitcoin ecosystem. Earlier this month, a bunch of builders submitted the Quantum‑Resistant Handle Migration Protocol (QRAMP), a Bitcoin Enchancment Proposal that may orchestrate a community‑huge transfer to put up‑quantum key codecs. As a result of QRAMP would require a consensus‑breaking exhausting fork, its political prospects stay unsure.
Individually, Canadian startup BTQ has pitched an unique proof‑of‑work different known as Coarse‑Grained Boson Sampling, which might substitute in the present day’s hash‑based mostly mining puzzles with photonic sampling duties executed on quantum {hardware}. Like QRAMP, BTQ’s idea calls for a tough fork and has but to garner broad assist.
From a technical standpoint, operating even a 5‑bit elliptic‑curve model of Shor’s algorithm is brutally unforgiving: qubits with fidelities above 99.9 %, coherent for a whole lot of microseconds, and orchestrated by way of deep circuits numbering within the 1000’s of two‑qubit gates can be required. Error‑correction overhead additional compounds the engineering burden, that means that contenders will doubtless should make use of small‑code logical qubits and spectacular compilation methods merely to maintain noise beneath management.
But the prize could show irresistible for college labs and company R&D groups desperate to reveal sensible quantum benefit. Cloud‑accessible gadgets from IBM’s Quantum System Two, Quantinuum’s H‑collection and OQC’s superconducting platforms already permit restricted, pay‑per‑shot entry to dozens—or in IBM’s case, a whole lot—of bodily qubits. Whether or not any of these machines can maintain the circuit depth vital stays to be seen.
Both final result provides invaluable knowledge. Within the phrases of Venture Eleven’s launch tweet, the target is stark: “Break the most important ECC key with Shor’s algorithm. The reward: 1 BTC + go down in cryptography historical past.”
At press time, BTC traded at $84,771.
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