BlackRock, Coinbase and Seven Other Bitcoin Giants Form $15M Security Consortium to Tackle Quantum Threat
BlackRock, Coinbase and Seven Other Bitcoin Giants Form $15M Security Consortium to Tackle Quantum Threat #
Nine prominent Bitcoin institutions, including BlackRock, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Strategy, have formed the Bitcoin Security Consortium, pledging a combined $15 million over three years to support Bitcoin network security.
The Consortium was announced on July 23. Its founding members are Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, BlackRock, Block, Blockstream, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets, Galaxy, and Strategy, representing holders, custodians, exchanges, infrastructure providers, payments companies, and asset managers. Mike Schmidt, executive director of Brink, a nonprofit that funds Bitcoin open-source developers, will handle day-to-day coordination on a volunteer basis.
The founding members cited quantum computing as a primary concern. They acknowledged that large-scale quantum computers capable of breaking Bitcoin’s cryptography do not yet exist, and that credible estimates put such capability years away, but said the Consortium is designed to support developers and researchers already working on preparedness. Each member will direct its own portion of funding independently to developers, researchers, and organizations of its choosing, rather than pooling resources into a central fund.
The group is structured to avoid any perception of influence over Bitcoin’s development. According to the announcement, the Consortium will not develop or direct Bitcoin’s protocol, take positions on specific protocol changes, or claim to speak for Bitcoin or its independent developer community. The model draws on how established industry groups have historically backed open-source software infrastructure they rely upon.
BlackRock’s global head of digital assets, Robert Mitchnick, said in a statement that Bitcoin Core developers “do incredibly important work” and that the firm was pleased to direct additional funding toward Bitcoin’s long-term security needs. Strategy chief executive Phong Le said participation reflects self-interest, noting that as long-term holders the company has “every incentive to see Bitcoin remain secure for generations.”
The announcement came days after Galaxy, one of the nine founding members, unveiled its own Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative, committing up to $5 million in grants for developers working on post-quantum cryptographic solutions and forming a Quantum Advisory Council drawing on academics from the University of Calgary and Boston University.
The Consortium plans to publish and regularly update public-facing material on Bitcoin security developments, aimed at investors, the media, and the wider public.
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