Galaxy has launched a program to prepare Bitcoin for potential threats from quantum computers, allocating up to $5 million in grants for developers and researchers.
Today we're launching the Galaxy Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative.
No quantum computer today can break Bitcoin's security. But that could change faster than expected, and Bitcoin is slow to update by design. We love Bitcoin and believe in its long-term importance and… pic.twitter.com/DGYFwRmddJ
— Galaxy (@galaxyhq) July 21, 2026
The Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative also includes a research program and an advisory board of experts in quantum computing and post-quantum cryptography.
Galaxy began accepting applications immediately after launching the program. Projects will be evaluated individually, with funding disbursed in stages upon achieving agreed-upon results.
The company has identified four priority areas:
- Development and testing of quantum-resistant transaction types;
- Implementation of post-quantum digital signature schemes in Bitcoin;
- Creation of migration tools for wallets and custodians;
- Security audits of proposed solutions.
Galaxy Research will publish materials on quantum risks for Bitcoin and ways to mitigate them, aimed at developers, institutional investors, and government representatives.
The advisory board will review applications and set research directions. It includes Barry Sanders, the scientific director of Quantum City at the University of Calgary; Damien Berube, a Knauss Fellow at MIT Sea Grant; and Eran Tromer, a professor of computer science at Boston University.
“There is a gap between rapidly advancing quantum computing and Bitcoin development, which is just beginning to seriously address post-quantum cryptography,” said Galaxy's head of research, Alex Thorn.
According to him, the company aims to bridge this gap through research publication and developer funding.
No Immediate Threat Yet
Bitcoin uses elliptic curve cryptography for digital signatures. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could theoretically compute private keys from public ones and sign transactions on behalf of others.
However, a cryptographically significant quantum computer capable of executing such an attack does not currently exist. Galaxy believes that the timeline for its development is shortening.
The main risk lies with digital signatures and wallets whose public keys are already exposed on the blockchain. According to an assessment by Coinbase's advisory council, mining, hash functions, and the blockchain history are not under comparable immediate threat.
The decentralized governance of Bitcoin complicates preparations. Updating the protocol requires development, testing, and consensus among network participants, which means migration could take years.
U.S. Accelerates Transition to New Algorithms
In August 2024, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) approved the first three post-quantum cryptography standards: FIPS 203, FIPS 204, and FIPS 205.
On June 22, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to accelerate the transition of federal information systems to NIST-approved algorithms. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of the National Cyber Director were tasked with coordination.
On June 24, the OMB issued memorandum M-26-15 to implement the executive order. Agencies must reduce potential quantum risks by December 31, 2030.
The transition of priority systems to post-quantum key generation mechanisms is scheduled for 2028-2030, while the migration of digital signatures is set for 2031. Remaining systems are expected to transition to new algorithms by 2035.
Two Proposals Under Discussion for Bitcoin
Developers are considering two proposals for protocol changes: BIP-360 and BIP-361.
BIP-360 proposes a new type of output called Pay-to-Merkle-Root (P2MR). It is similar to the construction used in Taproot but does not include a way to spend through an internal public key, which is vulnerable to prolonged quantum attacks.
P2MR is designed to protect against scenarios where an attacker has extended time to compute a private key from already published data. Post-quantum digital signature schemes will still be required to secure transactions during the confirmation waiting period.
BIP-361 outlines a subsequent migration and gradual phasing out of ECDSA and Schnorr signatures. The proposal was prepared by Jameson Lopp and five other authors.
In the first phase, approximately three years after the potential activation of BIP-361, it is proposed to prohibit sending funds to quantum-vulnerable address types. Two years later, spending from such addresses is planned to be linked to a special recovery mechanism that would complicate theft using a quantum computer. Activation parameters have not yet been determined.
Coinbase Joins the Preparation Efforts
In January, Coinbase formed an independent advisory board on quantum computing and blockchain. The board assesses threats, prepares recommendations, and analyzes significant industry developments.
In April, the experts published their first report. They did not see an immediate threat to blockchains but recommended starting preparations early, as updating protocols, wallets, and infrastructure could take years.
In June, the Coinbase council described scenarios for the quantum migration of bitcoins. Experts estimate that up to 7 million BTC could be at risk. At that time, several experts pointed out the challenges of post-quantum protection for the first cryptocurrency.
Some ecosystems are already publishing more centralized plans. For instance, in June, the Stellar Development Foundation released its document, and the Algorand Foundation also published a roadmap.
Nicolas Consigny, head of the Kohaku project at the Ethereum Foundation (EF), proposed a concept for protecting accounts from quantum computer attacks. The solution, called SPHINCS-, aims to secure wallets without requiring a hard fork.
It is worth noting that in January, the EF declared post-quantum security as one of its main strategic priorities and formed a specialized team of developers.