The bounty programme aims to test elliptic curve algorithms securing US$470 trillion in global assets and infrastructure.
Quantum-based blockchain Naoris Protocol has announced a $120,000 bounty programme challenging cryptographers to break the core elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) systems that currently safeguard the global digital economy.
The initiative draws attention to the growing urgency surrounding post-quantum readiness, as quantum computing advances towards the capacity to compromise today’s cryptographic foundations.
The challenge focuses on breaking widely used curves that underpin cryptocurrencies, financial institutions, intellectual property, and secure online communications, targeting the mathematics of cryptographic protocols rather than implementation flaws or side-channel vulnerabilities.
“This isn’t about attacking cryptocurrency, it’s about defending it,” said David Carvalho, CEO of Naoris Protocol. “These curves are mathematical masterpieces that have protected global commerce for decades. But quantum computing will render them obsolete. We’re building the quantum-safe infrastructure the world needs before that day arrives.”
Elliptic curve cryptography currently secures US$410 trillion in global banking assets, US$145 trillion in managed funds, and US$57 trillion in intellectual property.
To qualify, participants must demonstrate the recovery of a full private key from a public key using pure mathematical cryptanalysis.
“When quantum computers achieve this in the next decade or two, it won’t be a drill,” Carvalho warned. “That’s why forward-thinking enterprises and governments are transitioning to post-quantum cryptography now.”
In 2015, the NSA publicly committed to transitioning towards quantum-safe algorithms, a move that has since prompted similar shifts among global institutions.
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