Enter the narrow gate: Understand Bitcoin's anti-quantum computing solution in one article Project Eleven | CryptoSeed

Author: LenaXin, ChainCatcher

Editor: TB, ChainCatcher

In 2024, a project named Project Eleven quietly launched, aiming not at liquidity, airdrops, or modular tracks, but rather directly addressing a long-marginalized yet increasingly imminent systemic risk: the potential threat of quantum computing to the security of crypto assets. By deploying Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) mechanisms in Bitcoin and other blockchain protocols, Project Eleven seeks to build a defense for the crypto world before the existing cryptographic system collapses.

Problems Addressed by Project Eleven

The first external product of Project Eleven is a protocol tool called "yellowpages." Its core purpose is to help Bitcoin holders generate a set of quantum-resistant keys and bind them to their existing BTC addresses, thereby providing a "proof of ownership in the post-quantum era" for traditional Bitcoin addresses.

This design does not require users to migrate assets, change usage habits, or switch on-chain identities, but rather establishes an additional layer of security on top of existing Bitcoin addresses through a combination of off-chain and on-chain methods. This approach avoids changes to the Bitcoin protocol itself and reduces resistance to the implementation of PQC at this stage.

According to a set of data released on its official website, as of January 17, 2025, over 6,262,905 Bitcoins globally face potential quantum cracking risks, corresponding to a value of over $648 billion. These Bitcoins may have become "high-risk assets for quantum attacks" due to reasons such as static storage, high likelihood of private key exposure, or lost mnemonic phrases. The technical path of yellowpages is aimed at these existing risks, attempting to build a more long-term effective ownership system.

The project's positioning is not to build a new chain but to provide a set of pluggable, security-neutral technical components, prioritizing compatibility with the Bitcoin ecosystem, with potential future expansion to other blockchain protocols.

Team Background

The Project Eleven team brings together core members from multiple fields, particularly in crypto infrastructure and privacy computing.

• Alex Pruden: Appointed CEO of Project Eleven in April 2025. Previously served as president of the Layer1 anonymous privacy chain Aleo, with a cryptography background from Stanford University. He has stated on the X platform that Project Eleven is one of the few projects in the current Web3 space that truly attempts to prevent systemic risks, emphasizing that "mainstream protocols are still not prepared for quantum defense."
• Finn Murphy: Joined in October 2024 as one of the co-founders. He was a partner at the data privacy startup Nebular and previously worked at Pool Data (a decentralized data exchange network), focusing on data sovereignty and foundational protocol development.
• Conor Deegan: Former co-founder and CTO of Pool Data, currently the VP of Engineering at Project Eleven, responsible for the overall integration and deployment path of PQC technology.
• Leeor Mushin: Co-founder of Formation VC, joined the project’s founding team in January 2025, providing financing and strategic path support in the early stages of the project.

Funding Situation

On June 19, 2025, Project Eleven announced the completion of an early round of funding of $6 million, led by Web3 investment firm Variant Fund and quantum technology investment firm Quantonation, with participation from public blockchain venture capital firm Castle Island Ventures, New York angel fund Ambush Capital, and early Web3 venture firm Formation, among others.
Additionally, several individual investors participated, including:

• Joe Lallouz: Co-founder and former CEO of Bison Trails, now a partner at Ambush Capital;
• Aaron Henshaw: Co-founder of Bison Trails, currently the engineering lead at Coinbase Cloud;
• Zaki Manian: Co-founder of Sommelier, an important evangelist in the Cosmos ecosystem;
• Anna Rose: Co-founder of ZK Validator, founder and CEO of Videopath, an active evangelist in the ZK space.

Project Progress

In June 2025, Project Eleven's first external product "Yellowpages" completed prototype development and entered protocol validation and early baseline testing. The team is indeed testing the key binding logic and registration verification process, with a security review conducted by Cure 53, and the audit results are forthcoming. The project has not yet released a public user entry point and has not integrated with the Bitcoin mainnet for widespread deployment.

Currently, Project Eleven has not disclosed integration plans with wallets, exchanges, or node service providers, nor does it have community governance, incentive plans, or token issuance.

(This article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice.)