First Quantum Hack in Crypto Is Here, but Bitcoin Pioneer Adam Back Labels It as Fake

Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available. The crypto industry is discussing a high-profile precedent as researcher Giancarlo Lelli received a reward of 1 BTC from Project Eleven for successfully cracking a 15-bit ECC key on a quantum computer. While some see this as the beginning of the end for classical encryption, Adam Back has led the camp of skeptics, stating that behind the loud headline lies ordinary statistics. Advertisement Lelli used a cloud-based quantum computer and a modified Shor's algorithm to derive the key. Project Eleven highlights the progress over the past seven months - the complexity of cracked keys has increased from 6 to 15 bits, a 512-fold jump. By their logic, breaking Bitcoin becomes merely a matter of engineering refinement. HOT Stories Ripple Vet Defends Controversial 2017 XRP Price Take XRP's Price Recovery Pattern Finally Finished, Ethereum (ETH) $3,000 Breakout Attempt Invalidated, Minor Shiba Inu (SHIB) Uptrend Continues: Crypto Market Review Why Bitcoin pioneer Adam Back isn't worried about the 15-bit key breach The head of Blockstream, Adam Back, dismissed the claim entirely. According to him, the researcher did not solve the problem using a quantum method such as discrete logarithm computation, but simply checked outputs classically that are indistinguishable from noise. Advertisement Back agrees with the explanation that Lelli's method is equivalent to simple guessing. At such a small key size of 15 bits, the probability of success through brute force is so high that the involvement of a quantum computer becomes an expensive decoration. read the community note: it means it doesn't do what they have been claiming it does. it does not compute the discrete log of anything using quantum. — Adam Back (@adam3us) April 26, 2026 Adam Back remains confident regarding quantum resistance. His view as of April 2026 is that quantum machines will first break state secrets and banking systems, not Bitcoin . Advertisement You Might Also Like Mon, 04/27/2026 - 07:20 Is Massive Rally Ahead? BTC on Track for First Kumo Breakout Since October By Alex Dovbnya The criticism was supported by former Bitcoin Core developer Jonas Schnelli, who provided specific numbers: out of a total keyspace of 32,497 possibilities, the researcher tested around 20,000. "This is a 50% probability, like flipping a coin. Quantum computing contributed nothing useful here", Schnelli concluded. As of now, the "first-ever quantum hack" is regarded by experts as more of a marketing move than a technical breakthrough. Back maintains that as long as Bitcoin keys remain 256 bits long, such experiments remain nothing more than a sandbox exercise. #Bitcoin #Adam Back #Quantum Computing #Bitcoin News #Hack News