BlackRock, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets and other companies have pledged a combined $15mn to support Bitcoin security, including work to protect the network from future quantum computers, as experts warn that upgrading its cryptography could take years and create new risks.
BlackRock Backs $15mn Bitcoin Security Push as Quantum Concerns Grow
23 July 2026 - 19:17 CEST
By Jona Jaupi
The companies launched the Bitcoin Security Consortium on 23 Jul and will fund Bitcoin developers and researchers over the next three years.
The effort comes as the industry faces a difficult question: how to update the code that underpins the largest cryptocurrency by market cap before quantum computers become powerful enough to threaten it? One cybersecurity expert told Sandmark that the immediate concern is not quantum computers themselves, but whether the industry can carry out a complex network-wide upgrade safely.
"The crypto industry does not have a quantum-computer problem yet. It has a crypto-agility problem now," Joshua Copeland, director of cybersecurity at Crescendo AI and a professor at Tulane University, recently told Sandmark.
Preparing take years
Crypto-agility refers to the ability to replace one form of cryptography with another without disrupting a system. Currently, Bitcoin transactions are approved using public and private digital keys. However, a powerful enough quantum computer could potentially use a public key to uncover the private key and take the Bitcoin it controls.
Experts told Sandmark that no quantum computer can currently do this, but, Copeland said preparations should begin now because upgrading Bitcoin's security could take years.
One proposal, BIP-360, would add a new type of Bitcoin address that protects against some quantum attacks. However, transactions could still be at risk while waiting to be confirmed. Another proposal, BIP-361, would give holders several years to move their Bitcoin before older security methods are restricted. While neither proposal has been adopted yet, they highlight the gravity of quantum computing risks.
"The risk is not immediate in the sense that quantum-enabled theft is anticipated in the near term. However, urgency arises from the fact that a secure migration process may require many years," Copeland said. "Delaying preparations until a quantum breakthrough occurs would be analogous to devising a fire evacuation plan only after a building has already caught fire."
New risks
Copeland said moving to quantum-resistant security could introduce software errors, wallet problems and hardware limitations. This is due to new signatures and public keys often being larger, which could also increase transaction sizes, storage needs and fees.
"Governance risks also arise in this context," Copeland added. "Networks must determine whether quantum-vulnerable assets are required to migrate, whether legacy transaction types should be disabled, and how to address assets whose owners are unable or unwilling to migrate them."
He said that "inadequately coordinated upgrades" could result in chain splits, frozen assets, or incompatible bridges.
Copeland said that developers should make the changes in stages. This would include testing them on test networks and hardware wallets before a wider rollout. "The most dangerous moment may not be when a quantum computer arrives," he added. "It may be the rushed, fragmented transition immediately before it."
Existing efforts
The consortium follows other efforts to fund Bitcoin development. Galaxy, which is also a member of the consortium, launched its own Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative on 21 Jul. The company committed up to $5mn in grants for developers and researchers working to protect Bitcoin from quantum computers.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Bitcoin Security Initiative also funds research into long-term threats to the network.
Unlike those programs, though, the new consortium brings together asset managers, Bitcoin holders, exchanges, and infrastructure companies – other members include Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, Block, Blockstream, and Strategy.
Mike Schmidt, executive director of Bitcoin developer funding group Brink, will coordinate the group's work as a volunteer. Meanwhile, Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock's global head of digital assets, said in the announcement that the companies would provide "significant additional funding" for Bitcoin security.
BlackRock declined to comment further. The group also did not say how much each member pledged, how much will go toward quantum-related work or which projects will receive funding.
