Project Eleven ZK Proof for Quantum-Safe Bitcoin Recovery

MGR Online•Economy•1d ago

Reader Briefing

Project Eleven developed a zero-knowledge proof system to recover Bitcoin locked under the BIP-361 quantum threat proposal.

•Project Eleven created a zero-knowledge proof system capable of running in 243 milliseconds on a standard laptop.
•The system aims to facilitate Bitcoin recovery for addresses at risk after Q-Day, the date quantum computers can crack elliptic curve cryptography.
•Bitcoin held by Satoshi Nakamoto and wallets created before 2012 cannot benefit from this system due to their lack of derivation paths.
•BIP-361, published in April 2026, proposes blocking new deposits to risky addresses after three years and locking remaining funds after five years.

•Q-Day refers to the point when quantum computers possess enough power to decode elliptic curve cryptography used for Bitcoin private keys.
•Approximately 34% of the total Bitcoin supply has public keys already revealed on the blockchain, making them vulnerable after Q-Day.
•BIP-361, published in April 2026 by Jameson Lopp and five co-authors, proposes a timeline to block and lock risky addresses over a three to five-year period.
•Project Eleven and Binius proof lead developer Jim Posen developed a zero-knowledge proof using the mathematical difference between elliptic curve cryptography and hashing.
•The Project Eleven system generates a proof in 243 milliseconds on a MacBook Air M5 with four cores and uses approximately 2 GB of RAM.
•Satoshi Nakamoto's 1.1 million coins are ineligible for this recovery method because they were created using software without seed phrases or derivation paths before 2012.
•Project Eleven admits the prototype is unverified, supports only three types of Bitcoin addresses, does not support Taproot, and requires blockchain rule changes for implementation.
•If implemented, the Project Eleven system would allow owners with seed phrases to move coins to quantum-safe addresses before the BIP-361 five-year lock expires.

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Project Eleven

A quantum research company that developed a zero-knowledge proof system for Bitcoin recovery.

Satoshi Nakamoto(ซาโตชิ นากาโมโตะ)ℹ️

The creator of Bitcoin who mined coins between 2009 and 2010 and disappeared in 2011.

Jameson Lopp(เจมสัน ล็อปป์)

A co-author of the BIP-361 proposal published in April 2026.

Jim Posen(จิม โพเซน)

The lead developer of the Binius proof system who worked with Project Eleven.

BIP-361

A proposal to handle quantum threats by blocking and locking risky Bitcoin addresses.

BIP-32

A standard defined on February 11, 2012, that introduced the hierarchical derivation tree structure for keys.