Quantum Defense Initiative Gains Major Funding

Project Eleven has successfully raised $6 million in a funding round co-led by Variant Fund and Quantonation to develop quantum-resistant solutions for Bitcoin. The investment marks Quantonation's first foray into cryptocurrency projects, signaling growing industry concern about quantum computing threats.

The Quantum Vulnerability Challenge

According to Project Eleven's analysis, approximately 6.26 million BTC (worth $648 billion) held in 10 million Bitcoin addresses currently face quantum attack risks due to exposed public keys. CEO Alex Pruden emphasized the urgency: "It's not about if quantum computers will break current encryption, but when they'll become powerful enough."

【Key Data】The company cites research suggesting quantum computers capable of breaking current cryptography may emerge by 2033, with some experts predicting this could happen as early as 2027.

Yellowpages: A Quantum Safety Net

The team's first solution, Yellowpages, creates quantum-resistant proofs linking existing Bitcoin addresses to new secure versions without requiring onchain transactions. ——This offchain registry serves as an emergency backup if quantum computers compromise traditional keys—— The system has completed security audits by Cure 53, with results to be published soon.

Industry and Government Responses

Project Eleven joins broader efforts including the U.S. National Security Agency's plan to transition all national security systems to quantum-resistant encryption by 2035. Notably, Google's recent research reduced the qubit requirements for breaking RSA-2048 encryption from 20 million to 1 million, though current quantum computers remain limited to hundreds of stable qubits.

Technical Realities and Roadmap

While quantum computers have factored small numbers (48-50 bit), classical supercomputers still hold the record for larger factorizations (829-bit RSA key). Project Eleven plans to use the funding to:

- Develop quantum-resistant standards
- Expand the Yellowpages ecosystem
- Collaborate with Bitcoin Core developers
- Create additional defense tools

The initiative reflects growing recognition of what Adam Back calls "the quantum countdown" — a race against time to secure blockchain networks before quantum computers advance sufficiently to break current cryptographic protections.