Support — BTC Puzzles Challenge
Everything about the app, the 2015 Bitcoin puzzles, and the hunt —
answered honestly.
What this app is
BTC Puzzles Challenge is a research and exploration tool for the 2015
Bitcoin puzzle transactions — the 160 addresses funded by an anonymous donor with keys
hidden in ranges of known size. It lets you browse all 160 puzzles with full on-chain
data, study the 83 solved puzzles in forensic detail, convert keys between
HEX / WIF / address formats offline, and run a genuine Pollard-kangaroo discrete-log
engine on a sub-range you choose.
What this app is not
It is not a wallet, not an exchange, and not a promise of finding funds.
Searching large key ranges is astronomically improbable to succeed; the app reports
speeds and odds honestly rather than inflating them. It is also not affiliated with the
puzzle’s anonymous creator, does not control any prizes, and never stores or broadcasts
your keys. Apple Inc. is not a sponsor of the puzzle.
The puzzle in 60 seconds
In January 2015 an anonymous donor funded a chain of addresses to
demonstrate the vastness of Bitcoin’s key space. Level n hides its key in the
range 2n−1 ≤ key < 2n — each level
exactly doubles the previous one’s search space, and the prize grows accordingly.
Today 160 ranges are active; 83 have been solved and documented.
Frequently asked questions
Three things no other app on the store combines: (1) a genuine Pollard-kangaroo
discrete-log engine that searches a sub-range you choose on public-key-exposed
puzzles — not blind random guessing; (2) a complete archive of the 83 solved puzzles with
their keys, WIFs, signatures and transactions; (3) a full offline converter
(HEX ↔ WIF ↔ public key ↔ address). Everything reports real speeds and honest odds.
Open the Live Board and tap any puzzle to see its full on-chain dossier. To hunt, open
Mining: on public-key-exposed puzzles you can run the kangaroo engine over a sub-range
of your choice and watch real measured speed. Start small to learn the mechanics first.
We will never dress this up: the remaining ranges are astronomically large. A 71-bit
range holds about 270 candidate keys — centuries of continuous search on any
single device. The app shows you the real numbers so you hunt with understanding,
not illusion. Low ranges are for learning; high ranges are for the thrill.
No. Mining secures the network by hashing block headers. This app searches for private
keys inside publicly known puzzle ranges — a pure discrete-log search that touches
nothing but mathematics on your device.
No. Every feature — puzzle data, the converter, the search engine, the statistics —
runs fully on-device, offline. Your keys and your work never leave your phone.
Only puzzles whose public key was exposed by the creator’s outgoing transaction:
the solved 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130 and 135 fell this way,
and 140, 145, 150, 155 and 160 remain exposed but unclaimed. On an exposed key, a
square-root algorithm (Pollard’s kangaroo) cuts the work from the full interval to roughly
its square root — for example, a 2135 range becomes about 267.5 curve
operations. Still enormous — but a different universe from blind guessing. Puzzles without
an exposed public key cannot be attacked this way by anyone.
iOS suspends CPU-intensive work when an app is backgrounded or the screen locks.
The engine runs while the app is in the foreground and the device is awake — for long
sessions, keep it on a charger with Auto-Lock disabled.
Elliptic-curve math taxes the CPU heavily. Warmth under load is normal. For marathon
runs, keep the device charging and give it breaks if it becomes hot.
First: do not share it with anyone. Verify it in the in-app Converter (the address
must match the puzzle address exactly). Then follow the Vault screen’s safety path:
import the key into a wallet you control (e.g. BlueWallet) and sweep the funds to your
own address with an adequate fee. Bots watch the puzzle addresses 24/7 — a homemade
transaction with a wrong SIGHASH flag or a reused nonce can be rewritten and the bounty
stolen, as publicly happened at puzzles #66 and #69. Take the safe path, slowly.
Yes. There are no accounts, no analytics, no ads, no tracking. Search targets, hunt
progress and saved vault entries live only in your device’s local storage and are deleted
when you uninstall. Nothing is transmitted anywhere.
Only open, published standards: secp256k1 (ECDSA), SHA-256 and RIPEMD-160 — the same
algorithms Bitcoin itself uses. Nothing proprietary, nothing secret.
Exploring a publicly documented cryptographic puzzle on your own device is legal in most
jurisdictions, but laws and tax rules vary. We cannot provide legal or financial advice —
check your local rules if unsure. Any bitcoin found belongs solely to the key holder.
Available now on iOS and iPadOS (and on Apple-silicon Macs). Because the app is
built with Flutter, Android, Windows, Linux and a web version run from the same
codebase — the web edition is planned for app.qbytelab.com, and Android is next in line.
Same engine, same privacy: every platform stays fully on-device and offline.
Nobody knows — that is part of the legend. Ranges fall one by one when public keys are
exposed; the rest hold as long as elliptic-curve cryptography holds. A mature quantum
computer running Shor’s algorithm could one day change that picture, and the puzzle’s
anonymous funder can move the remaining coins at any time. Until then, the hunt is on.
Troubleshooting
No. The number shown is the real measured speed of your device, not a marketing figure.
Desktop GPU tools are faster; the mathematics of large puzzles remains out of reach for
any single device, and the app says so openly.
Restart the app, make sure your iOS is up to date, and try a smaller sub-range. Your
progress and vault entries are stored safely on your device.
The engine only runs in the foreground with the screen awake. Disable Auto-Lock and
keep the device charging for long sessions.
Contact
Email: contact@qbytelab.com — we typically reply within a few days.
Please include your app version (shown in the app) and your device model; screenshots
help a lot. Website: qbytelab.com
QbyteLab 