As quantum computing becomes more and more prevalent in our lives, quantum computing research company Project Eleven has launched a competition to see how big a threat quantum computing currently poses to Bitcoin (BTC).
Accordingly, Project Eleven announced that it will give a reward of 1 Bitcoin to the person who can break Bitcoin’s cryptography within a year.
Project Eleven named the Bitcoin prize to be given at the end of the competition as the “Q-Day Prize” and said that the aim of the prize is to test how big a threat quantum computing poses to Bitcoin and to find quantum-proof solutions to secure Bitcoin in the long term.
More than 6 million Bitcoins worth an estimated $500 billion could be at risk if quantum computers are able to crack Bitcoin’s elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) keys, Project Eleven said.
Participants can register individually or as a team and have until April 5, 2026 to complete the task. The person or persons who win the prize will receive 1 Bitcoin.
“We just launched the Q-Day Award.
1 BTC to the first team to crack a toy version of Bitcoin’s cryptography using a quantum computer.
Deadline: April 5, 2026 Mission: Protect 6 million BTC (over $500 billion)
Mission: Breaking the ECC key with a quantum computer.
Reward: 1 BTC + making history in cryptography.
This is just the beginning – If someone cracks a 5-bit key, it will be a turning point.
This is much smaller than BTC’s 256-bit keys, but quantum computers will reach this size as well.”
*This is not investment advice.