BlackRock, Coinbase, Strategy Join Consortium With $15M Pledge to Strengthen Bitcoin Security Against Quantum Risks

A group of nine major financial and crypto firms has formed the Bitcoin Security Consortium, committing a combined $15 million over the next three years to support Bitcoin security research and open source development, with part of the effort focused on preparing the network for future advances in quantum computing.

The consortium includes BlackRock, Coinbase, Strategy, Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, Block, Blockstream, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Galaxy. According to the announcement, the initiative will publish resources tracking Bitcoin security research for investors and the broader public while supporting work that strengthens the network’s long-term resilience.

The consortium will not control or distribute the pledged funding. Instead, each participating company will independently decide which developers, researchers, or organizations to support. The group also emphasized that it will not participate in Bitcoin governance, direct protocol development, or take positions on proposed network upgrades.

“Bitcoin Core developers do incredibly important work,” said Robert Mitchnick, Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock. He added that the initiative would expand funding available to support Bitcoin’s long-term security.

The announcement did not specify how much each member is contributing, identify the first funding recipients, or clarify how much of the pledge represents new financial commitments.

Earlier this week, Galaxy announced a separate $5 million initiative dedicated to quantum-resistant signatures, wallet migration tools, and security audits. The consortium did not indicate whether Galaxy’s previously announced commitment is included within the broader $15 million pledge.

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Although quantum computers capable of breaking Bitcoin’s cryptographic protections do not yet exist, developers have already begun exploring potential defenses because implementing network-wide changes could take years. Any future transition would require coordination across wallets, exchanges, miners, developers, and users throughout Bitcoin’s decentralized ecosystem.

Among the proposals under discussion is BIP 360, which introduces a new output type designed to reduce public key exposure. Developers are also evaluating post-quantum signature schemes and approaches for protecting Bitcoin stored in older addresses where public keys have already been exposed.

According to research from CryptoQuant, approximately 6.9 million BTC could become vulnerable if sufficiently powerful quantum computers are developed. Addressing that risk would require both technical upgrades and broad coordination across the Bitcoin network.

Mike Schmidt, Executive Director of Bitcoin developer funding nonprofit Brink, will coordinate the consortium’s activities on a volunteer basis.

Editorial Note: Reported and edited by the Crypto India Magazine editorial team. We use AI tools to assist with research and drafting; every article is reviewed and fact-checked by our editors.

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