Galaxy Digital (GLXY) said it set up a $5 million fund for Bitcoin developers working to protect the network from the potential future threat of quantum computers.
The crypto-financial company said it will begin accepting applications for the Galaxy Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative immediately, with grants focused on developing quantum-resistant signature schemes, wallet migration tools and security audits. The company said it hopes other firms will contribute funding and research to accelerate the transition to quantum-resistant cryptography.
Bitcoin secures wallets and transactions with cryptographic techniques that current computers cannot break in a meaningful time frame. While quantum computers are still too immature to attack blockchain, advances in the technology have accelerated efforts across government and industry to adopt quantum-resistant standards before the threat becomes a reality.
In the event that quantum computers become capable of breaking Bitcoin’s cryptography, about 6.9 million bitcoin can become vulnerable to theft, according to CryptoQuant research. At today’s price of about $66,800, that equates to about $461 billion.
