Project Eleven (P11) has announced the QDay Prize, an open competition offering a reward of one Bitcoin (current value about $85,000) for demonstrating the ability to break elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) using Shor’s algorithm on a quantum computer. Participants must submit quantum programs that directly solve the elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem (ECDLP) without relying on classical shortcuts or hybrid methods. Submissions must include gate-level code and system specifications, and all entries will be made publicly available for transparency.
The competition is structured around progressively larger ECC key sizes, starting from 1-bit keys, with an emphasis on demonstrating generalizable techniques that can scale to full cryptographic key lengths. The organizers stress that even successful attacks on small keys would be significant milestones. To participate, entrants may use either publicly accessible quantum hardware or private systems, and are expected to handle error-prone qubit environments realistically, given current hardware fidelities.
The initiative aims to provide a transparent benchmark for measuring real-world quantum computing progress against cryptographic standards. It highlights the urgency of understanding how close current technologies are to threatening ECC security. With quantum hardware development accelerating, particularly in error correction and qubit scalability, the QDay Prize seeks to establish a verifiable and open marker of when practical quantum attacks against widely used encryption systems may emerge.
Read the full announcement about the QDay Prize here.
April 19, 2025
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