BlueQubit Launches a Quantum Advantage Challenge With a $20,000 Bitcoin Prize - The Quantum Insider
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Insider Brief BlueQubit has launched the Quantum Advantage Challenge, an open competition aimed at publicly testing whether quantum computers can outperform classical machines on a real-world cryptographic problem. The challenge centers on BlueQubit-developed quantum algorithms that can solve a peaked-circuit problem in hours on current quantum hardware, while classical approaches face a prohibitive 2⁵⁶ search space. To make the test verifiable, the hidden solution is encoded as the private key to a Bitcoin wallet containing 0.25 BTC, with success signaling either demonstrated quantum advantage or an unexpected classical breakthrough. PRESS RELEASE — BlueQubit, a leader in quantum software and advanced quantum-algorithm research, has announced the launch of its Quantum Advantage Challenge, a bold open competition designed to test, and potentially prove, the superiority of quantum computers over classical machines on a real-world cryptographic task. At the heart of the challenge lies a new class of quantum algorithms developed by BlueQubit, capable of solving a specialized problem in just a few hours on today’s quantum hardware. Meanwhile, all classical attempts so far have struggled, highlighting an emerging performance gap that could represent one of the clearest demonstrations of quantum advantage to date. The problem is built around peaked circuits, quantum circuits engineered to produce an extremely concentrated probability distribution, “peaking” on a single hidden bitstring. For quantum computers, locating this bitstring is feasible; for classical computers, the search space is 2⁵⁶, so vast that storing the full state would require more RAM than all of the world’s computers combined. This immense asymmetry makes peaked circuits one of the most promising illustrations of quantum computational power. To make the challenge tangible and exciting BlueQubit has embedded the solution inside a real Bitcoin wallet. The private key to this wallet, containing 0.25 BTC (approximately $20,000 USD), has been encoded directly into the peaked circuits. Participants can attempt to solve the circuits, recover the hidden key, and claim the Bitcoin. If anyone succeeds, they not only win the prize but also demonstrate an unexpected classical breakthrough. If no one is able to beat the quantum solution, this will stand as compelling evidence that quantum computers have already surpassed classical computing for specific, practical tasks. “We wanted a clear, public, and verifiable way to demonstrate quantum advantage,” said Hayk Tepanyan, BlueQubit CTO. “There’s no better proof than a problem where a quantum computer can extract a real cryptographic key in hours and where classical algorithms may simply be outmatched.” Matt Swayne LinkedIn With a several-decades long background in journalism and communications, Matt Swayne has worked as a science communicator for an R1 university for more than 12 years, specializing in translating high tech and deep tech for the general audience. He has served as a writer, editor and analyst at The Quantum Insider since its inception. In addition to his service as a science communicator, Matt also develops courses to improve the media and communications skills of scientists and has taught courses. matt@thequantuminsider.com Share this article: