• Project 11 is looking to gauge the urgency of the quantum security risk to Bitcoin.

• Millions of addresses could be at risk if quantum computers are eventually able to break Bitcoin’s cryptography.

• Project 11’s efforts could inform a push to make the cryptocurrency network quantum-resistant.

One of the defining features of Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is its security. In fact, a common boast made by proponents is that the network has never been hacked.

But this celebrated security may soon be under threat—at least, that is what believers in the fast-rising potential of quantum computing have suggested.

How urgent is this threat? One quantum computing firm is seeking to find out through an open contest.

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Project 11, a recently launched quantum computing firm, is looking to gauge the urgency of the quantum security risk to Bitcoin.

On April 16, Project 11 disclosed that it would give away 1 BTC, currently worth nearly $85,000, to any individual or team that could break the largest elliptic curve cryptographic key possible using Shor’s algorithm on a quantum computer before April 5, 2026.

Elliptic curve cryptography is an encryption system favored for its efficiency and used to secure several things, including Bitcoin wallets. Shor’s algorithm is a quantum algorithm widely believed to have the potential to break encryption systems like ECC if a large and accurate enough quantum computer is built.

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However, for the Project 11 challenge, participants won’t be taking on the 256-bit Bitcoin wallet encryption key but “a toy version.” Specifically, the firm has prepared a set of keys with varying security levels from 1 to 25 bits.

“You don’t need to break a Bitcoin key. A 3-bit key would be big news,” the firm said.

The statement comes as Project 11 asserts that no ECC key used in real-world cryptography has ever been cracked. As such, the team contended that the prize was not just 1 BTC but also a chance “to go down in cryptography history.”

Project 11 believes that at the current pace of development, quantum computers could break Bitcoin’s wallet encryption within the decade, potentially putting millions of exposed wallet keys at risk. The firm estimates that these wallets hold 6 million BTC worth over $500 billion.