Strategy-led consortium pledges $15M to quantum-proof Bitcoin

Michael Saylor’s Strategy announced the launch of the Bitcoin Security Consortium and pledged a total of $15 million over the next three years to support developers working to protect Bitcoin against potential quantum computing threats. Founding members include Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, BlackRock, Block, Blockstream, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets and Galaxy.

The consortium’s day-to-day work will be coordinated by Mike Schmidt, who is volunteering as executive director of Brink, a nonprofit that supports open-source Bitcoin developers. The funding will back research, software development and developer grants aimed at quantum-resistant migration strategies, tooling and documentation for the Bitcoin network.

Galaxy Digital separately committed up to $5 million in grants for developers focused on Bitcoin’s quantum security and has formed a council of quantum-advisory experts to evaluate migration approaches. The consortium said it will concentrate on long-term planning, building software prototypes and supporting the developer community that would be involved in any future upgrade process.

Technical work to make Bitcoin resistant to quantum attacks would focus on replacing or augmenting the cryptographic methods used for addresses and signatures so they remain secure against quantum algorithms. That work typically includes research, prototype implementations, testing and coordination across node operators and wallet developers to avoid disrupting the network during any transition.

The Bitcoin community continues to debate the timeline for a meaningful quantum threat. Adam Back, chief executive of Blockstream, has estimated no significant quantum risk for 20 to 40 years. An investment manager report from Bernstein has estimated a shorter window of roughly three to five years to prepare for a post-quantum upgrade. The consortium did not endorse a single timeline and described its funding as precautionary support for the developer ecosystem.

Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s global head of digital assets, praised Bitcoin core developers as doing ‘incredibly important work’ and said the firm was pleased to make ‘significant additional funding available to support Bitcoin’s long-term security needs.’

The consortium emphasized support for open-source development and said grants will be aimed at tools and migration pathways that developers can test and adopt. The group intends to lower the burden on individual maintainers by funding collaborative research and engineering that can be reviewed and tested by the wider Bitcoin community.