Eigen Labs conducted a crowdsourced optimization challenge focused on quantum circuits for secp256k1 elliptic curve point addition, a key component of Shor’s algorithm. The initiative, which began in early June 2026, attracted over 100 participants, including researchers from the Ethereum Foundation and StarkWare.
Over a two-month period, participants submitted more than 400 entries. The final optimized circuit requires 1,151 logical qubits and 1.30 million Toffoli gates, achieving a Q x T score of approximately 1.496 billion. This result is roughly 50% more efficient than Google’s benchmark of 3 billion Toffoli gates.
Participants matched Google’s performance within 8 hours of the challenge launch and exceeded it within 72 hours. A technical paper documenting these findings was released on September 10, 2026. Experts noted that these results highlight potential efficiency gains rather than immediate threats to existing systems.
