Bitcoin backers fund $15M push on quantum attack prep

Bitcoin investors are putting fresh money into a threat that is still theoretical but could take years to address. BlackRock, Coinbase and Strategy are among nine founding members of the Bitcoin Security Consortium, a new group that will support developers and researchers working on Bitcoin's long-term security. Its first focus is quantum computing.

The consortium said $15 million is being committed for that work. Other founding members are Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, Block, Blockstream, Fidelity Digital Assets and Galaxy. The move follows growing attention on whether future quantum computers could weaken the elliptic-curve cryptography Bitcoin uses for digital signatures.

A Dune Analytics dashboard cited in the announcement shows more than 7 million BTC in outputs with exposed public keys, about 34.9% of the supply covered by its analysis. At recent prices, that represented roughly $460.8 billion. The amount classed as exposed rose by about 77,275 BTC in the latest complete month.

There is no known quantum computer today that can break Bitcoin signatures. The issue is preparation time. Any shift to quantum-resistant signatures would need design, review, testing and broad adoption across wallets, exchanges, miners, node operators and users. The consortium said it will not pool member funds, choose grant recipients or take positions on Bitcoin protocol changes.