We’re excited to announce that Project Eleven has entered into a new collaboration with Dr. Doruk Gür, a cryptographer specializing in lattice-based cryptography. Doruk earned his PhD in Computer Science with a dissertation in post-quantum cryptography from the University of Maryland, and previously served as a PQC Research Scientist Resident at SandboxAQ. His expertise spans applied cryptography, with a focus on lattice signatures, oblivious pseudorandom functions, and trapdoor sampling.

Doruk joins us as the inaugural recipient of the Project Eleven Grants Program, which funds open-source research applying post-quantum cryptography to blockchain technology. This program reflects our mission to accelerate the development of tools, protocols, and knowledge that will safeguard the world’s digital assets from emerging quantum threats.

Doruk’s work will explore practical ways to keep Bitcoin’s wallet infrastructure secure in a post-quantum world. He’ll be diving into research, writing, and coding to test how existing standards like BIP-32 could adapt to quantum-safe cryptography. This comes at a critical time. Hierarchical deterministic (HD) wallets like those defined in BIP-32 are the backbone of Bitcoin and nearly every other blockchain. They power everything from individual self-custody to multi-billion-dollar exchanges and custodians. Without a quantum-safe upgrade path, the very infrastructure that secures today’s digital assets will become a post-quantum attack surface. Doruk’s research is aimed at ensuring HD wallets can evolve before quantum computers force the issue.

“This collaboration with Project Eleven offers a unique opportunity to address one of the most critical problems with cryptography in a post-quantum world: ensuring Bitcoin’s key management protocols remain secure. I’m eager to apply my research in lattice-based cryptography to develop practical, open-source solutions for the blockchain community.” - Doruk Gür

We look forward to sharing the progress of Doruk’s work, and we’re proud to support research that strengthens the foundations of decentralized systems for the quantum era.