Galaxy Digital, a leading financial services and investment management firm focused on digital assets, has committed up to $5 million in grants to support open-source projects advancing post-quantum cryptography solutions for Bitcoin. The initiative is part of the firm’s Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative, revealed on Tuesday, which seeks to ensure the future security of the Bitcoin network against the potential threat posed by quantum computing.
New quantum advisory council announced
To guide the program, Galaxy Digital formed a quantum advisory council. The council brings together prominent experts, including Barry Sanders, professor and scientific director at Quantum City at the University of Calgary; Damien Bérubé, MIT Sea Grant Knauss Fellow; and Eran Tromer, professor of computer science at Boston University. The council will help direct grant funding and steer the strategic direction of the initiative.
Grant funding will focus on several key areas: developing quantum-resistant proposals, advancing post-quantum cryptography, designing new Bitcoin signature schemes, creating wallet and custodian migration tools, and conducting formal security audits. These efforts aim to mitigate risks associated with advances in quantum computing that could compromise existing cryptographic protocols on the Bitcoin network.
Analytics firm Glassnode has estimated that if quantum computers capable of breaking current cryptography were to emerge, roughly 30% of the total Bitcoin supply might be at risk. Specifically, about 10% of Bitcoin is labeled “structurally unsafe” due to its output type, while another 20% is considered “operationally unsafe” because of common key or address management practices.
Mini dictionary: Galaxy Digital is a diversified financial services company specializing in digital assets, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain technology, offering asset management, trading, and investment banking services.
| At-Risk Bitcoin Supply | Description |
|---|---|
| 10% | Structurally unsafe (output type vulnerability) |
| 20% | Operationally unsafe (key/address management issues) |
| 30% | Total potentially exposed to quantum risk |
Debate over timeline for quantum breakthrough
The timeline for a practical quantum computing breakthrough that would threaten Bitcoin’s cryptography remains a subject of debate among experts and industry leaders. Blockstream CEO Adam Back stated in November 2025 that Bitcoin will likely not face a meaningful quantum threat for at least another 20 to 40 years, offering the network significant time to transition to upgraded cryptographic standards. Back pointed to the recent standards approved by the US Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as paving the way for eventual migration.
In August 2024, NIST released three new post-quantum cryptography standards covering key establishment and digital signature algorithms. These standards are designed to safeguard digital systems—including potential future Bitcoin upgrades—against quantum-enabled attacks, and may facilitate a more secure transition across various industries.
NIST’s approval of three post-quantum cryptography standards marks a significant step for industries looking to migrate away from current cryptographic methods, with the potential to underpin future Bitcoin security efforts.
Blockstream Research further proposed a hash-based signature scheme as a possible solution to replace Bitcoin’s current ECDSA and Schnorr signature mechanisms, publishing a paper in December 2025 arguing this approach offers robust protection in a post-quantum world. The proposal relies solely on cryptographic hash functions for security.
Wealth management firm Bernstein echoed concerns in an April report, suggesting that the Bitcoin ecosystem has a window of three to five years to prepare for meaningful post-quantum security upgrades before the threat potentially materializes.
Bernstein identified a timeline of three to five years for Bitcoin to implement necessary post-quantum upgrades in anticipation of advancing quantum computing capabilities.
