The Competition is on:

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$100,000 in Bitcoin for whoever cracks the biggest ECC key using Shor's algorithm on a quantum computer by September 25, 2025.

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The world's encryption standards stand strong — for now. But quantum computing is advancing, and we need to know: how close are we to breaking elliptic curve cryptography (ECC)?

This is an open competition in quantum cryptanalysis. The mission: break the largest ECC key possible using Shor's algorithm on a quantum computer. No classical shortcuts. No hybrid tricks. Pure quantum power.

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  Prize: $100,000 in Bitcoin

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  Deadline: September 25, 2025

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  Competition: Break the biggest ECC key with Shor's algorithm

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Quantum Progress Should Be Open

Quantum computing is advancing fast, and the impact on cryptography is inevitable. Instead of waiting for breakthroughs to happen behind closed doors, we believe in bringing the challenge into the open. The QDay Prize is about testing real quantum capabilities, pushing the limits of cryptanalysis, and ensuring the world is ready for what comes next.

Key Reasons for the Prize

• Transparency in Quantum Breakthroughs - Progress shouldn't be hidden in labs; it should be shared.
• Serious Demonstrations of Quantum Cryptanalysis - Not theory, but real-world quantum computation at work.
• Reality Check for Security - ECC is everywhere. How close are we to breaking it?
• Encouraging Open Research - Making quantum progress accessible to all?

Breaking ECC - The Quantum Test That Matters

What is ECC?

Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) is a widely used form of public-key cryptography that secures everything from Bitcoin wallets to TLS encryption on the web. ECC is favored because it provides the same security as traditional schemes (like RSA) but with much smaller key sizes, making it more efficient. A 256-bit ECC provides the same level of security as a 3072-bit RSA key—a huge efficiency gain.

Why focus on breaking ECC?

Classical computers struggle with ECC—it’s designed to be infeasible to break using traditional factoring or brute-force methods. But quantum computers change the game.

• Shor’s Algorithm (1994) proves that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer can break ECC in polynomial time, something impossible for classical computers.
• Current best classical attacks—such as pollard rho and index calculus methods—are exponentially slower and infeasible at high key sizes.
• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and cryptographic communities recognize ECC as vulnerable to future quantum attacks and are actively transitioning to post-quantum cryptography (PQC).

Why this benchmark?

To date, no ECC key used in real-world cryptography has been cracked—not by classical methods, and not by quantum.

However, quantum research has progressed:

• Small instances of ECC curves (e.g., tiny toy problems) have been factored on simulated quantum hardware.
• IBM, Google, and others are rapidly improving qubit count and error correction, making real attacks increasingly feasible.
• Current estimates suggest that around 1,500 logical qubits (error-corrected) would be enough to break a 256-bit ECC key—a milestone that could be reached within the decade.

Who’s leading this field?

• Peter Shor’s original 1994 paper laid the foundation for quantum breaking of RSA and ECC.
• Google’s quantum supremacy experiment (2019) proved that quantum computers can surpass classical systems in specific tasks.
• IBM’s roadmap (2023+) is targeting thousands of qubits and error-corrected logical qubits—steps toward scalable quantum cryptanalysis.
• Government cryptographic agencies (NSA, NIST, GCHQ, ANSSI) are actively developing quantum-resistant cryptographic standards.