Researcher Cracks 15-Bit ECC Key on Quantum Hardware, Wins 1 BTC

Independent researcher Giancarlo Relli cracked a 15-bit Elliptic Curve Cryptography key on public quantum hardware and claimed a 1 BTC bounty from Project Eleven. The demonstration was described as the largest quantum attack to date and 512 times larger than a record set last September. The result does not pose an immediate threat to Bitcoin’s 256-bit security, but experts said quantum attacks are materializing faster than anticipated.