In brief
- Galaxy Digital launched a Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative built on three pillars: up to $5 million in developer grants for post-quantum solutions, a research program through Galaxy Research, and a Quantum Advisory Council of academic experts.
- The effort targets “Q-Day,” when a quantum computer could use Shor’s algorithm to forge Bitcoin signatures and drain vulnerable wallets.
- Momentum is building industry-wide: Project Eleven projects a cryptographically relevant quantum computer by 2030-2033, Coinbase’s advisory council is urging developers to start migration work now, and Trump signed executive orders moving the federal post-quantum deadline to December 2031.
Galaxy Digital on Tuesday launched a Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative, pledging up to $5 million in developer grants, a research program, and a new advisory council to help harden the network against the eventual arrival of powerful quantum computers.
The Nasdaq-listed firm said the multi-pillar effort will fund work on post-quantum cryptographic solutions, publish analysis through Galaxy Research, and convene a Quantum Advisory Council whose inaugural members include University of Calgary professor Barry Sanders, MIT Sea Grant Knauss Fellow Damien Bérubé, and Boston University computer science professor Eran Tromer. Galaxy said it expects to begin accepting grant applications immediately.
“As leaders in the digital assets space, we believe it’s important that we help be part of the solution to any potential threat quantum computing poses to Bitcoin,” said Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of Galaxy.
The initiative targets what researchers call “Q-Day,” the point at which a quantum machine could break the elliptic curve cryptography securing Bitcoin. Using Shor’s algorithm, an attacker could derive a private key from an exposed public key, forge a signature and drain a wallet, with nothing on-chain flagging the transaction as fraudulent.
Old and reused addresses are most at risk. Defenses under discussion include migrating funds to quantum-resistant addresses and adopting new signature schemes through proposals such as BIP-360 and BIP-361, though such upgrades could take years given Bitcoin’s decentralized governance.
The launch lands amid an accelerating warning cycle. A May report from quantum security firm Project Eleven concluded that a cryptographically relevant quantum computer is more likely than not to exist by 2033 and potentially as early as 2030, estimating roughly 6.9 million Bitcoin sit in quantum-exposed addresses.
In June, Coinbase’s quantum advisory council urged developers to begin migration work rather than debate timing, pegging vulnerable supply at about 7 million BTC. That same month, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders advancing U.S. quantum capabilities and moving the federal deadline for post-quantum cryptography to December 2031.
More recently, Project Eleven on July 16 unveiled a technique to let users prove wallet ownership after Q-Day by verifying control of a parent key rather than a signature. “This gives them a fallback: prove ownership through derivation, not signature, even after that window closes,” CEO Alex Pruden wrote.
Galaxy said preparing Bitcoin for quantum computing will require coordinated effort across the ecosystem.
“There’s a gap between the quantum computing world, which is moving fast, and the Bitcoin development world, which is just beginning to engage with post-quantum cryptography in earnest,” Galaxy Research head Alex Thorn said in a statement. “Galaxy’s role is to bridge that gap through research that makes the threat legible to investors and policymakers, as well as grants that fund the developers doing the hardest technical work.”
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