Technical dictionary
secp256k1
Elliptic curve used by Bitcoin and many EVM chains for ECDSA (and related) signatures—vulnerable to Shor-class attacks.
Definition
secp256k1 is a specific elliptic curve widely used in cryptocurrency signatures. Classical security assumes the elliptic-curve discrete logarithm problem is hard.
A cryptographically relevant quantum computer running Shor’s algorithm would break secp256k1-based public-key schemes, enabling key recovery from exposed public keys.