Nine financial and crypto firms, including BlackRock, Coinbase and Strategy, said Thursday they have formed the Bitcoin Security Consortium and plan to commit a combined $15 million over three years to support Bitcoin security research and open-source development. Part of that effort will focus on preparing for the potential threat that quantum computing could pose in the future.
The group’s members are BlackRock, Coinbase, Strategy, Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, Block, Blockstream, Fidelity Digital Assets and Galaxy.
How the consortium will operate
The Bitcoin Security Consortium said some of its resources will be directed toward risks tied to progress in quantum computing. It also said it plans to publish regular updates on Bitcoin security research so investors and the broader public can track developments.
The $15 million will not be pooled or allocated by the consortium itself. Each member firm will independently choose which developers, researchers or organizations to support. The consortium said its role is limited to providing resources. It will not steer Bitcoin’s development, and it will not take positions on any Bitcoin protocol upgrade proposal.
Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, said, "Bitcoin’s core developers are doing critically important work, and through this initiative we hope to provide additional financial support for Bitcoin’s long-term security."
The consortium did not disclose how much each member is contributing, who the first recipients will be, or how much of the $15 million is new money.
Why the issue is being addressed now
Galaxy had earlier announced a separate $5 million program focused on quantum-resistant signatures, wallet migration tools and security audits.
No quantum computer today is powerful enough to break Bitcoin. Even so, the work is being discussed now because reaching consensus and deploying technical changes across wallets, exchanges, miners and ordinary users could take years.
Proposals under discussion
One proposal under discussion is BIP 360, which aims to introduce a new output format to reduce the risk created when public keys are exposed to quantum attacks. Other ideas being discussed include post-quantum signature schemes and protections for bitcoin held in early addresses where public keys have already been exposed.
Research has warned that if sufficiently powerful quantum computers emerge, about 6.9 million BTC could be directly exposed to hacking risk. Any response would require technical changes on the Bitcoin network and coordination among multiple parties.