Loading story…
Coinbase formed an independent advisory board on quantum computing and blockchain, and later joined eight other institutions in launching the Bitcoin Security Consortium, a three-year effort pledging $15 million to support long-term Bitcoin security research. The consortium includes Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, BlackRock, Block, Blockstream, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets, Galaxy, and Strategy, and says post-quantum cryptography is its top priority as the industry prepares for future threats to current cryptographic protections.
The effort follows Galaxy’s separate Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative, which offers up to $5 million in milestone-based grants for quantum-resistant transaction proposals, post-quantum signature integration, migration tooling, and security audits. Organizers said no quantum computer can currently break Bitcoin cryptography, but warned that millions of BTC are already exposed on-chain through visible public keys, making migration planning, protocol consensus, and decisions around dormant coins central challenges; the consortium said it will fund and communicate security work without directing Bitcoin protocol development or endorsing specific changes.
Track how attackers are adapting to this technology.
8 events from the most recent confirmed update back to the earliest known activity.
Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, BlackRock, Block, Blockstream, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets, Galaxy, and Strategy announced the Bitcoin Security Consortium to support long-term Bitcoin security work. The members pledged an aggregate $15 million over three years, with post-quantum cryptography identified as the leading funding priority.
Strive announced a Bitcoin Stewardship Commitment, with initial support routed through Brink.
Galaxy launched the Galaxy Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative, including up to $5 million in milestone-based developer grants, a research program, and a Quantum Advisory Council.
A preprint published on July 20 reported reducing the logical width of a secp256k1 attack circuit to 835 qubits, though with a larger gate count.
BitGo launched quantum risk scoring and exposed-address remediation for institutional Bitcoin wallets, adding operational tooling for institutions concerned about future quantum threats.
Executive Order 14412 was signed, requiring U.S. federal high-value assets and high-impact systems to adopt post-quantum key establishment by the end of 2030 and post-quantum digital signatures by December 31, 2031.
Coinbase’s Independent Advisory Board on Quantum Computing and Blockchain published its first position paper, marking an early public output from the board.
Coinbase established an Independent Advisory Board on Quantum Computing and Blockchain to examine long-term quantum risks and blockchain security issues.
Vulnerabilities, threat actors, malware, products, organizations, and breaches Mallory has linked to this story.
Follow how adversaries are adapting to this technology, and where it touches your stack today.
2 references tracked. Mallory keeps watching after this page renders.
Map indicators from this story to your assets and identify affected systems in minutes.
Every observed campaign, victim, and pivot linked to actors named in this story.
Malware, exploits, and IOCs connected to the activity described here.
YARA, Sigma, and Snort rules deployed to your SIEM as soon as they’re published.
Get matching new stories delivered to your team as they break — not the next morning.
Ask questions about this story and take action on the answers.
Other stories Mallory is tracking that overlap on entities, sources, or topic labels.
Ohio lawmakers advanced **House Bill 650** to create a bipartisan Frontier Technologies and Quantum Commission that would study quantum computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and robotics, while the UK outlined plans to invest up to **£2 billion** to become a global leader in quantum computing by the early 2030s. Both efforts reflect a broader push to prepare for rapid advances in quantum technology, with policymakers seeking expert guidance on economic impact, workforce needs, commercialization, and national security as competition with China intensifies. Security concerns featured prominently in both policy and industry discussions. Experts warned that quantum capabilities could eventually undermine current encryption through **"harvest now, decrypt later"** attacks, increasing pressure to migrate to post-quantum cryptography, while debate in the cryptocurrency sector focused on whether future quantum systems could expose bitcoin tied to revealed public keys. Galaxy Digital said the threat to Bitcoin is real but not yet existential, noting that most holdings are not immediately vulnerable and that developers are already pursuing quantum-resistant address types, phased protocol upgrades, and other mitigations.
Jul 2, 2026
The Ethereum Foundation has launched a public post-quantum research hub that consolidates its security research, roadmap, and technical specifications for protecting the blockchain against future quantum-enabled cryptographic breaks. The effort spans Ethereum’s execution, consensus, and data layers and is framed as part of a long-running resilience program, with the Foundation targeting Layer 1 post-quantum protocol upgrades by 2029 while warning that full execution-layer migration will take longer. Ethereum said quantum threats are most likely to become practically relevant in the early-to-mid 2030s, but argued that preparation must begin now because upgrading decentralized infrastructure is a multi-year process. The broader push reflects growing industry coordination on post-quantum cryptography beyond blockchain. Cloudflare and Google are also working on quantum-safe cryptographic improvements for internet infrastructure, underscoring that major platforms are moving from research toward deployment planning. Together, the initiatives show large-scale technology operators preparing for the eventual replacement of current public-key systems before quantum computing can undermine widely used encryption and authentication schemes.
Jun 29, 2026
Quantum computing is rapidly emerging as a transformative technology with the potential to revolutionize various industries, but it also poses significant risks to current cryptographic systems. Bitcoin, which relies on strong cryptographic algorithms such as SHA-256 and the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA), faces a unique threat from quantum computers. The security of Bitcoin transactions and wallets is fundamentally based on the computational difficulty of breaking these algorithms, a challenge that quantum computers could potentially overcome. Algorithms like Shor’s algorithm threaten to break ECDSA in a fraction of the time required by classical computers, undermining the security of digital signatures and potentially allowing unauthorized transfers. Similarly, Grover’s algorithm could reduce the difficulty of attacking hash functions, impacting both mining and protocol-level security. The risk is not limited to Bitcoin; quantum computing threatens to break many types of traditional encryption, including both asymmetric and, eventually, symmetric cryptography. Attackers are already harvesting encrypted data today with the intention of decrypting it once quantum capabilities become available, a practice known as 'harvest now, decrypt later.' A common misconception is that the quantum threat is still years away, but recent research and expert opinions suggest that quantum computing could become mainstream within five years or less. This short timeline means that organizations must begin replacing legacy encryption with quantum-resistant solutions now, as the transition is complex and time-consuming. The urgency is heightened by the fact that most businesses are unaware of the full scope of the threat, particularly to symmetric encryption. Security leaders are being urged to prepare for the post-quantum era by assessing their cryptographic assets and developing migration strategies. The ongoing debate and research into quantum resistance are shaping the future of digital security, with the Bitcoin community and broader cybersecurity industry recognizing the need for proactive measures. The continued popularity and financial significance of Bitcoin add to the urgency, as any compromise in its cryptographic integrity could have far-reaching consequences. The challenge is not merely theoretical; it is an immediate concern that requires coordinated action from developers, researchers, and business leaders. The transition to quantum-resistant cryptography is expected to be a major technological undertaking, involving updates to protocols, software, and hardware across the digital ecosystem. As quantum computing advances, the window for effective preparation is closing, making it imperative for organizations to act now to safeguard their data and systems. The future of secure digital transactions, including those on the Bitcoin network, depends on the timely adoption of post-quantum cryptographic standards.
Jun 29, 2026