Researchers Halve Quantum Attack Estimate for Bitcoin and Ethereum
What happened: A new paper led by Jieyi Long (Theta Labs CTO) reports a 50% reduction in the estimated quantum resources needed for a key cryptographic attack on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
What happened: A new paper led by Jieyi Long (Theta Labs CTO) reports a 50% reduction in the estimated quantum resources needed for a key cryptographic attack on Bitcoin and Ethereum. The ECDSA.Fail challenge, launched by Eigen Labs in May 2026, saw over 100 human and AI contributors submit 400+ solutions, cutting the required quantum circuit complexity from Google's March 2026 baseline of ~3 billion to 1.496 billion. The breakthrough, achieved with 1,151 logical qubits and 1.3 million Toffoli gates, was published September 10, 2026.
Why it matters: While the research demonstrates rapid progress in quantum cryptanalysis, lead author Long emphasized that no current quantum computer can execute such an attack. The result covers only a core calculation, excluding full error correction and hardware feasibility. Still, the pace of improvement—an 86% reduction in just over two months—highlights the need for ongoing vigilance in blockchain security.
Source: CoinDesk