Strategy, BlackRock, Coinbase and six other companies have formed the Bitcoin Security Consortium to fund work on Bitcoin security over the long term.
summary
- Nine major companies have pledged $15 million over three years to support Bitcoin security research around the world.
- Post-quantum cryptography is driving the consortium’s agenda, although no capable attack system currently exists anywhere.
- Members will independently fund selected developers without directing changes to the Bitcoin protocol or its open source community.
The founding members pledged a total of $15 million over three years to developers, researchers and organizations working on the network.
Other members are Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, Block, Blockstream, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Galaxy. Brink’s Executive Director, Mike Schmidt, will coordinate the group’s daily work as a volunteer. Each company will choose where to direct its own funding rather than paying into one common pool.
The consortium targets Bitcoin’s long-term security
Consortium His name Post-quantum cryptography as the first focus area. This field develops methods designed to resist attacks from classical and quantum computers. Bitcoin currently relies on elliptic curve cryptography to prove ownership and allow transactions.
Large-scale quantum computers cannot break Bitcoin’s encryption today. However, a sufficiently powerful machine running Shor’s algorithm can derive a private key from an exposed public key. The attacker can then attempt to move funds from a compromised address. Researchers still disagree about when such a machine might exist.
“As long-term holders, we have every incentive to see Bitcoin remain safe for generations,” said Vuong Lu, CEO of Strategy.
Member firms will provide more funding for Bitcoin Core developers and long-term security work, said Robert Mitchnik, global head of digital assets at BlackRock.
Members will not control the development of Bitcoin
The group said it will not develop or guide the Bitcoin protocol, endorse specific changes or speak on behalf of Bitcoin developers. The open source community will continue to discuss, test, and approve any changes to the current Bitcoin process.
This limit is important because the consortium includes major companies related to Bitcoin. BlackRock and Fidelity offer institutional bitcoin products, while Coinbase and Anchorage Digital provide trading and custody services. The strategy holds Bitcoin as its main treasury asset. Blockstream and Block develop Bitcoin infrastructure and payment products.
Members will independently select developers, researchers and non-profit groups. The consortium also plans to publish materials about Bitcoin security for investors, the public and the media. These updates will track technical developments rather than setting network policy, she said.
Quantitative preparedness work is expanding
The consortium arrived two days after the launch of the separate Galaxy Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative. Galaxy has allocated up to $5 million in grants for post-quantum tools, wallet migration systems, signature research, and security audits. It also formed an advisory board and a research program.
There is no quantum computer relevant to cryptography today, Galaxy said. However, it warned that Bitcoin upgrades could require years of design, testing and adoption because the network uses decentralized governance. Galaxy is also a founding member of the consortium, but its separate grant program has its own review process.
As reported by crypto.news, Coinbase’s independent advisory board urge Bitcoin Developers Begin Quantum Migration Plan Now The board has not supported a specific policy for obsolete or weak coins. He called for technical preparation before the threat becomes practical.
Cryptocurrency companies have also begun testing new tools. BitGo and Silence Labs Completed a simulation using a post-quantum signature system in an institutional custody workflow. Developers are also discussing Pep-360which would add a new type of Bitcoin output designed to reduce future quantum exposure.
Estimates of exposed Bitcoin vary
Project eleven List of Bitcoin risks It is estimated that there were 6,982,462 Bitcoins in addresses with exposed public keys as of June 15. This number includes coins affected by legacy address types and address reuse. The tracker does not claim that current devices can steal those coins.
Other studies use narrower definitions. Ditto I mentionedGlassnode estimated in May that 1.92 million bitcoins faced structural exposure because their output types expose public keys by design. It placed another 4.12 million bitcoins in an operational category associated with processing reuse and wallet practices.
Project eleven Quantum Threat Report 2026 It placed its baseline estimate for “Q-Day,” when a quantum computer can crack the current public-key encryption, at 2033. Its early scenario set the date in 2030, while its later case extended it to 2042. These estimates remain uncertain and depend on advances in hardware, error correction, and algorithms.
The US government also accelerated its plans. A Executive order in June Directs federal agencies to transition high-value systems to post-quantum key generation by the end of 2030 and post-quantum digital signatures by the end of 2031.
The consortium said it would publish more material and continue to fund security work. It did not name the grant recipients, list individual company contribution amounts or suggest a deadline for upgrading the Bitcoin protocol.
