Quantum Computing Defense Funding: Project 11 Raises $6M for Bitcoin Security
A startup focused on safeguarding Bitcoin against future quantum computing threats has secured $6 million in seed funding. Project 11 announced this investment Thursday.
The round was co-led by Variant Capital and Quantonation, with participation from Castle Island Ventures, Nebular Capital, and Formation Capital.
The core concern driving Project 11 is that future quantum computers, still in development by companies like IBM and Google, could potentially break the cryptographic algorithms underpinning Bitcoin’s security.
“A cryptographically relevant quantum computer will break the foundational security assumptions of Bitcoin and nearly every digital asset,” the company stated.
Project 11 asserts that “every wallet, every account holder, every smart contract key—all of it—must upgrade to new, quantum-safe cryptography” before the threat materializes.
“With rapid progress from companies like IBM and Google, that future is no longer hypothetical,” according to Project 11. “It’s coming fast and there isn’t long to prepare.”
Bitcoin currently relies on cryptographic standards, such as RSA and Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA), which quantum algorithms could theoretically solve efficiently.
While some in the crypto community downplay the immediate risk, a startup raising significant funding to address it indicates a view of the threat as increasingly plausible.
Michael Saylor, founder of MicroStrategy and a prominent Bitcoin advocate, has publicly dismissed concerns, stating, “Microsoft and Google market their quantum projects, but they would never sell a quantum computer that cracked cryptography, because it would destroy their own companies.” He further commented that when the threat actually emerges, other networks will face the greater risk.
