BlackRock, Coinbase, Strategy in group pledging $15 million to prepare Bitcoin for quantum threats

A total of nine companies have formed a consortium pledging a combined $15 million over three years to support Bitcoin BTC$65,171.29 security research and open-source development.

Companies in the newly formed Bitcoin Security Consortium include major crypto market participants including BlackRock, Coinbase, Strategy, Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, Block, Blockstream, Fidelity Digital Assets and Galaxy.

The group will focus partly on preparing Bitcoin for advances in quantum computing and will publish material tracking the state of Bitcoin security work for investors and the public.

The $15 million will not be held or allocated by the consortium, but instead member will choose which developers, researchers or organizations it funds. The group said it will not direct Bitcoin development or take positions on proposed protocol changes.

“Bitcoin Core developers do incredibly important work,” BlackRock digital assets head Robert Mitchnick said, adding that the group would make additional funding available for Bitcoin’s long-term security.

The announcement did not disclose individual contributions, initial recipients or how much of the funding represents new commitments.

Galaxy this week launched a separate $5 million initiative for quantum-resistant signatures, wallet migration tools and security audits. The consortium did not say whether that commitment is included in the $15 million total.

Quantum computers capable of breaking Bitcoin’s cryptography do not currently exist. Developers have started working on potential defenses, however, partly as agreeing on and deploying changes across wallets, exchanges, miners and users could take years.

Proposals include BIP 360, which would introduce a new output type designed to limit the exposure of public keys. Other approaches under discussion include post-quantum signature schemes and ways to address coins held in older, already exposed addresses.

Roughly 6.9 million bitcoin could be vulnerable if sufficiently powerful quantum computers emerge, according to CryptoQuant research. Any response would require technical changes and coordination across Bitcoin’s decentralized network.

Mike Schmidt, executive director of Bitcoin developer funding nonprofit Brink, will coordinate the consortium’s work on a volunteer basis.