Project Eleven" award announced for Giancarlo Lelli as 1 BTC

Quantum startup "Project Eleven" has announced the Q-Day Prize of 1 BTC (approximately $78,000) to independent researcher Giancarlo Lelli. Ixbt.com reports this.

Lelli successfully cracked a 15-bit cryptographic key based on elliptic curves using publicly available quantum hardware.

This is not a breach of Bitcoin; Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies typically rely on 256-bit cryptography, while a 15-bit key consists of only 32,767 variants.

Quantum algorithms, specifically Shor's algorithm, can theoretically break such schemes, and demonstrations are rapidly increasing in complexity: 6-bit was shown in 2025, and now 15-bit has been demonstrated.

Bitcoin remains practically secure for now, but the industry is discussing the transition to post-quantum algorithms, and communities holding addresses with open public keys should take precautionary measures.