Project Eleven, a firm focused on post-quantum cryptography, has secured $6 million in funding to safeguard Bitcoin and other digital assets from the threat posed by advanced quantum computing capabilities.
The funding round, announced on a recent Thursday, was co-led by Variant Fund and Quantonation, with the investment earmarked for building the tools, standards, and ecosystem required to ensure digital assets remain secure in a post-quantum world. According to Alex Pruden, the Chief Executive Officer of Project Eleven, the capital infusion will empower the company to achieve this critical mission. He stated that the funding would enable Project Eleven to “build the tools, standards and ecosystem required to ensure digital assets remain secure in a post-quantum world.” This proactive approach is essential given the potential for quantum computers to render current cryptographic methods obsolete, thereby jeopardizing the security of digital currencies like Bitcoin.
Project Eleven’s internal analysis, corroborated by data from Eleven Labs and YCharts, indicates that an estimated 10,095,693 Bitcoin addresses, possessing a non-zero balance and an exposed public key, are currently at risk. This substantial number of addresses collectively holds approximately 6,262,905 BTC, a staggering sum valued at around $648 billion, which could be susceptible to a quantum attack. In response to this pressing concern, Project Eleven has already introduced its inaugural offering: Yellowpages. This innovative cryptographic registry is designed to allow users to establish a quantum-resistant proof, serving as a secure link between their existing Bitcoin addresses and newly generated, more secure addresses, without necessitating any on-chain transactional activity.
Pruden emphasized the role of Yellowpages as a vital contingency mechanism, stating that it “will act as a fallback in the event that quantum computers compromise existing Bitcoin keys.” To ensure the robustness and reliability of Yellowpages, Project Eleven commissioned an audit by Cure 53, a renowned security auditing firm. The results of this audit are anticipated to be made public in the near future. Furthermore, in a collaborative effort to fortify Bitcoin’s core infrastructure, Project Eleven has initiated discussions with Bitcoin Core developers regarding potential future upgrades to enhance the network’s quantum resistance.
The debate surrounding the quantum threat to Bitcoin remains a nuanced and occasionally controversial topic. While some in the community view it as a largely theoretical risk, a growing number of experts and institutions are taking the threat with utmost seriousness. For instance, the United States National Security Agency (NSA) has publicly declared its intention for “all National Security Systems to be quantum-resistant by 2035.” This ambitious timeline includes specific milestones: new acquisitions will mandate quantum-resistant encryption by 2027, and legacy equipment is slated for phased retirement between 2030 and 2031. Similarly, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) echoed this sentiment in late 2024, stating its overarching goal of “achieving widespread [post-quantum cryptography] adoption by 2035.” Pruden underscored the evolving nature of this threat, remarking, “It’s not a question of whether or not it’s theoretical, it’s at what point it becomes practical.”
To better understand the timeline for the emergence of cryptography-breaking quantum computers, the Rand Corporation conducted an expert survey in 2020. Their comprehensive report estimated that, on average, such a quantum computer could emerge by 2033. However, the report also acknowledged a significant range of possibilities, indicating that “earlier and much later development are possible,” with the earliest potential appearance starting from 2027. This research by Rand preceded a notable study released by Google in May, which revealed a significant reduction in the computational requirements to break RSA-2048 encryption. The study demonstrated that it could now be achieved with approximately 1 million noisy qubits operating for one week, a substantial improvement from the previous estimate of 20 million noisy qubits.
Despite advancements in quantum computing, classical computers still hold the advantage in certain cryptographic tasks. Pruden acknowledged that “Quantum computers can already factor small ECDSA public keys.” However, he also pointed out that classical computers are capable of the same. A 2022 research paper detailed the successful factoring of a 48-bit semiprime number using a 10-qubit quantum computer, while in 2024, D-Wave utilized a quantum annealing computer to factor a 50-bit semiprime number through a hybrid approach. For perspective, the current record for classical computers was established in 2020, when a supercomputer successfully factored an 829-bit RSA key, leveraging approximately 2,700 CPU-core-years. These comparisons highlight the ongoing race between advancing computational power and the need for robust, future-proof cryptographic solutions for digital assets like Bitcoin.
