The research initiative Project Eleven has announced a reward of 1 BTC for cracking the strongest possible ECC key using Shor’s algorithm on a quantum computer. The open competition, dubbed the Q-Day Prize, will run until April 5, 2026.
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, 2026
Mission: Protect 6M BTC (over $500B)— Project 11 (@qdayclock) April 16, 2025
The challenge is directly aimed at the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA), which underpins Bitcoin’s security model.
Project Eleven experts have prepared a set of ECC keys with security levels ranging from one to 25 bits for the competition. Participants must submit an application detailing the instructions for their developed cracking program, the overall approach, methods used, and equipment specifications. All results will be published openly.
According to the project, over 6.2 million BTC, valued at approximately $500 billion, are currently stored in wallets with exposed public keys and could be at risk due to advances in quantum computing. Project Eleven’s initiative seeks to assess the practical level of risk associated with these concerns.
“We have no clear idea how close we are to a quantum ‘doomsday’ scenario for existing cryptography. The Q-Day Prize aims to take the theoretical threat from quantum computers and turn it into a concrete model,” said Project Eleven CEO and co-founder Alex Pruden in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine.
In October 2024, Chinese scientists conducted the “world’s first effective attack” on a widely used encryption algorithm using a quantum computer. Later, experts claimed that the mentioned threat to cryptocurrencies was exaggerated.
Pierre-Luc Dallaire-Demers, a scientist from the University of Calgary, believes that quantum computing does not pose a threat to Bitcoin wallets in the next five years. However, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino predicted that sooner or later, lost coins, including ~1 million BTC of Satoshi Nakamoto, will be hacked and returned to circulation.
Co-founder of Casa, Jameson Lopp, suggested burning these bitcoins. Regarding currently vulnerable addresses, he proposed setting a deadline for transitioning to a quantum-resistant format, and freezing the remaining at-risk assets after the time expires.